OCTLIGHT

What OCTLIGHT does

OCTLIGHT ApS is a Danish deep-technology company founded in 2014 as a spinout from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), headquartered at DTU Science Park in Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. The company designs and manufactures VCSEL (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) Swept Source laser modules for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging, built on patented MEMS-VCSEL architecture and the proprietary HERO (Highly Efficient Resonant Oscillator) technology. Its commercial product family consists of two core OEM modules: Caliper-HERO, delivering fixed 1.7 MHz A-scan rates for ultra-fast 3D OCT imaging, and Caliper-FLEX, offering flexible scan rates with long (50+ mm) coherence length for applications requiring imaging ranges from millimeters to meters. Both modules operate at 1060 nm center wavelength, optimized for deep ocular penetration (choroid imaging) as well as industrial metrology and LiDAR use cases.

OCTLIGHT operates a B2B OEM hardware model, selling modules directly to medical device manufacturers, OCT system integrators, and industrial imaging customers under quote-based multi-year contracts, with technical integration support included. Its primary commercial vertical is ophthalmology (cataract surgery biometry, retinal and choroidal imaging, OCT angiography), with a secondary industrial-imaging vertical for metrology and quality control. Augmented revenue streams include an exclusive technology licensing arrangement with DTU and grant-funded co-development partnerships (e.g., Eurostars DOCTA, InTherSteLa) that extend the platform into cataract surgery platforms and OCT-guided spinal surgery, respectively.

The company is led by co-founder and CEO Thor Ersted Ansbæk and co-founder/CTO Kresten Yvind (Full Professor at DTU Fotonik and head of the Nanophotonics Devices group), with a board chaired by Finn Halken. Since founding, OCTLIGHT has raised modest equity (a 2015 seed from SDTI plus an undisclosed 2018 round) supplemented by multiple non-dilutive grants (Horizon 2020 SME Instrument twice, Markedsmodningsfonden, Innovation Fund Denmark, Eurostars, EIC Accelerator Seal of Excellence, and BMWK), and has worked with 20+ innovator customers globally. It remains a privately held, venture-backed business with 1-10 employees.

Name

OCTLIGHT

Legal name

OCTLIGHT ApS

Website

https://octlight.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OCTLIGHT ApS is a Danish deep-tech company founded in 2014 as a DTU spinout that designs and sells MEMS-VCSEL Swept Source laser modules (Caliper-HERO and Caliper-FLEX) as OEM components to medical device manufacturers and OCT system integrators serving ophthalmology, industrial metrology, and LiDAR imaging applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical Coherence Tomography Components

NAICS

Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing (339115)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841)

akta.pro primary industry

Optoelectronic Emitters (LED/Laser/VCSEL) (HDAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Retinal Imaging & OCT Systems (OCT/OCTA, Fundus Cameras, Fluorescein/ICG Angiography) (HLAHAJAB), LiDAR & 3D Sensing Modules (HDAHALAG), Refractive Surgery Systems (Excimer/Femtosecond Lasers, Phakic IOL Systems, Wavefront/Guidance) (HLAHAJAG)

Keywords

• VCSEL swept source lasers
• Optical coherence tomography components
• Ophthalmic OEM laser modules
• MEMS-VCSEL imaging modules
• Industrial OCT metrology lasers

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyngby

HQ country

Denmark

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. VCSEL Swept Source Modules: Sale of VCSEL-based swept source laser modules (Caliper-HERO and Caliper-FLEX) to OEM customers for integration into OCT systems. Hardware sales model with direct customer engagement for specification and integration support.
2. Technology Licensing: Exclusive license to patented VCSEL technology from DTU for wavelength tunable light sources for 3D OCT imaging.
3. Professional Services: Integration support and customization services for OEM customers implementing VCSEL technology into their products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

OCTLIGHT designs, develops and manufactures VCSEL (Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) Swept Source laser modules for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging. Its product family — Caliper-FLEX (variable scan rate, long coherence length) and Caliper-HERO (1.7 MHz fixed-rate based on patented HERO technology) — is sold as OEM modules and turn-key benchtop systems to medical device manufacturers, system integrators, and industrial imaging companies for ophthalmic diagnostics, biometry, and high-resolution metrology applications.

Product overview

OCTLIGHT offers a product family of VCSEL Swept Source laser modules for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging applications. The core portfolio consists of two main products: Caliper-FLEX and Caliper-HERO. Caliper-FLEX provides flexible variable scan rates with long imaging range capabilities, while Caliper-HERO delivers ultra-fast fixed sweep rates up to 1.7 MHz using patented HERO technology for high-throughput imaging. Both products utilize MEMS-VCSEL (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser) technology with 1060 nm center wavelength for deep eye penetration. The company also has a second product line called Ozzy in development targeting Ophthalmic imaging applications. These compact laser modules are designed for OEM integration into OCT scanners for medical diagnostics (ophthalmology, biometry), industrial imaging, and LiDAR systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Caliper-HERO: Ultra-fast VCSEL Swept Source laser module achieving 1.7 MHz A-scan rates based on patented Highly Efficient Resonant Oscillator (HERO) technology for rapid 3D OCT imaging
• Caliper-FLEX
• Ozzy
• Caliper

Products and services

• Caliper-HERO Ultra-fast VCSEL Swept Source laser module with fixed 1.7 MHz sweep rate based on patented HERO (Highly Efficient Resonant Oscillator) technology. Designed for OEM integration into high-speed 3D OCT imaging systems for ophthalmology, industrial metrology, and LiDAR, with single-channel acquisition and phase-stable operation.
• Caliper-FLEX VCSEL Swept Source laser module with flexible variable scan rates for OCT applications, featuring inherently long coherence length of MEMS-VCSEL technology enabling mm to meter imaging range with micrometer resolution. Suitable for OEM integration into industrial metrology, quality assurance, and biomedical imaging systems requiring long imaging range.
• DTU VCSEL Technology License Exclusive licensed access to patented DTU VCSEL technology covering wavelength tunable light sources for 3D OCT imaging, including the 1060 nm tunable monolithic high-index contrast subwavelength grating VCSEL and resonant MEMS tunable VCSEL architectures used in the Caliper product family.
• OEM Integration and Customization Services Integration support and customization services provided to OEM customers implementing OCTLIGHT's VCSEL Swept Source modules into their OCT imaging products, including specification alignment and technical integration assistance.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.7 MHz A-scan rate achievable with Caliper-HERO, enabling 10x faster imaging than conventional systems
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wavesense EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 September 2022Eurostars DOCTA project partner for developing novel OCT + digital aberrometry system for use during cataract surgery. OCTLIGHT provides dual bandwidth phase stable MHz swept source laser based on VCSEL technology to enable the DOCTA device to operate reliably with high precision.
• Medical University of ViennacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 September 2022Eurostars DOCTA project partner, birthplace of OCT research in Europe (Leitgeb and Drexler group). Provides R&D support for DOCTA device development to meet targeted specifications. Leading research in OCT imaging and digital wavefront aberrometry.
• University of Kent (Applied Optics Group)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 February 2020EU NETLAS project partner. Used OCTLIGHT VCSEL Swept Source to demonstrate real-time volumetric in-vivo OCT imaging of the human retina at 800 kHz A-scan rate, marking first publication of in-vivo retina imaging using their SS-OCT.
• Bern University of Applied Sciences (Optolab)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 September 2017Eurostars BLINK project partner for demonstrating OCT imaging with innovative and affordable Optical Coherence Tomography Engine capable of generating wide field 3D OCT images.
• Region HovedstadencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 September 2017Eurostars BLINK project partner for demonstrating wide field 3D OCT imaging technology.
• VTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerActphast project partner for developing cost-efficient free-space optical coupling of VCSEL and semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) for power amplification beyond 1 mW output.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Superlum: Supplier of superluminescent diodes and swept sources for OCT; small, specialist competitor with comparable OEM positioning to OCTLIGHT.
• Wasatch Photonics: Supplier of OCT spectrometers and components for industrial and medical imaging; comparable component-level OEM positioning with overlap in OCT instrumentation.
• Insight Photonic Solutions: Specialist in swept laser technology for OCT and machine vision; comparable technology focus (swept sources for imaging) with overlap in industrial and medical applications.

Broad incumbents

• Heidelberg Engineering: Major ophthalmic OCT system manufacturer (Spectralis); potential OCTLIGHT OEM customer in ophthalmology and broader competitive reference point for swept-source OCT adoption.
• Axsun Technologies (Excelitas): MEMS-based swept source laser supplier acquired by Excelitas; offers similar OEM OCT swept source modules and is a direct competitor in the same customer-OEM integration model.
• NKT Photonics: Danish-headquartered broad-line photonics company (supercontinuum sources, fiber lasers, specialty fibers); board member Jakob Skov is a former CEO, and NKT Photonics represents both a potential acquirer and an indirect competitor in laser sources.
• Carl Zeiss Meditec: Global leader in ophthalmic diagnostic devices including OCT systems; representative large incumbent that could absorb OCTLIGHT technology either as OEM partner or via acquisition.
• Thorlabs: Large, broad-line photonics and laser components supplier offering swept source lasers, OCT engines, and OEM modules; directly overlaps with OCTLIGHT's OEM swept-source offering but serves many additional photonics markets.
• Santec: Established Japanese supplier of swept-source lasers and OCT systems, particularly for ophthalmology; competes with OCTLIGHT's Caliper modules in the same OEM and end-system ophthalmic OEM channels.

Direct peers

• Optovue (Visionix): Ophthalmic OCT angiography specialist (now part of Visionix); comparable end-customer focus in ophthalmology and could be an OEM partner for OCTLIGHT's swept source modules.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/octlight

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OCTLIGHT