ANELLO Photonics secures Series B funding to advance inertial navigation technology

ANELLO Photonics secures Series B funding to advance inertial navigation technology
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 19, 2024

ANELLO Photonics, known for developing the Silicon Photonic Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOG), has announced the completion of its Series B funding round, underscoring strong investor trust in its innovative inertial navigation solutions designed for GPS-denied environments.

This round was co-led by Lockheed Martin, Catapult Ventures, and One Madison Group, with participation from New Legacy, Build Collective, Trousdale Ventures, In-Q-Tel (IQT), K2 Access Fund, Purdue Strategic Ventures, Santuri Ventures, Handshake Ventures, Irongate Capital, and Mana Ventures. The new investment aims to accelerate ANELLO's efforts in advancing navigation technology for industrial and defense applications.

The addition of new investors reflects growing interest in ANELLO's SiPhOG technology, which merges high-precision optical fiber gyro performance with integrated silicon photonics. ANELLO's solutions are tailored for the high standards required in navigation and motion tracking for autonomous systems in GPS-compromised conditions.

"Every week there's an article about a commercial flight or defense-related mission getting GPS jammed like thousands of flights to and from Europe affected by suspected Russian jamming. GPS has become a single-point of failure because it's too easily compromised with various jamming and spoofing techniques. ANELLO's proven and commercially available optical gyroscope is the only navigational tool that can take over: precision over long periods of time, the size of a golf ball, low power, low cost, that's immune to shock and vibration. ANELLO will save lives in the air, on the road, and over water," said Tony Fadell, Build Collective Principal and Nest Founder.

Dr. Mario Paniccia, CEO and co-founder of ANELLO Photonics, added, "We are excited to announce our new series B funding round as well as our new investors in ANELLO. This investment not only validates our SiPhOG technology and products in the marketplace but will allow us to accelerate our manufacturing and product development as we continue to push the boundaries and leadership for navigation capabilities and performance to our customers who want solutions for GPS-denied environments."

Lockheed Martin Ventures Vice President and General Manager Chris Moran commented, "We're committed to fostering the art of the possible with investments in cutting edge technologies, including advancements in inertial navigation that have the potential to enhance autonomous operations in GPS-denied environments. Our continued investment in ANELLO reflects our mission to accelerate technologies that can ultimately benefit national security."

ANELLO Photonics is collaborating with leading customers across multiple sectors, including Construction, Agriculture, Trucking, Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, Autonomous Vehicles, Defense, and National Security.