What Photon Force does

Photon Force is a privately held, for-profit image sensing startup headquartered in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Founded in 2015, the company positions itself within the image sensing community and supplies what it describes as innovative, high-quality, and accurate sensor technology. The firm is small, with headcount reported in the 1-10 range, and operates with limited public visibility — its website currently renders only a verification/loading page, and there are no published product specifications, datasheets, or pricing materials in the available sources.

The publicly disclosed business profile is minimal. Photon Force was identified as one of 280+ key industry players profiled in a global sensors market research report covering the 2026-2036 period, placing it within the broader commercial sensor ecosystem, though the source does not provide revenue, shipment, or market-share figures attributable to the company. No funding rounds, investors, patents, certifications, customers, or distribution partnerships are disclosed in the input. The leadership team record in the data contains a single named individual — Alastair Atkinson, Non-Executive Director — and no executive officers, founders, or technical staff are identified in the available material.

Because pricing is not publicly disclosed and no named customers or segments are listed, the commercial model cannot be precisely characterized from the input. The company's positioning (a niche, deep-tech sensor supplier embedded in a research/industrial imaging community with a London-Edinburgh photonics cluster base) is consistent with a low-volume, high-mix B2B sales motion to OEMs, integrators, and academic customers. Every revenue, pricing, customer, funding, and product-detail field is unpopulated in the source, which materially limits any further inference.

Name

Photon Force

Website

https://photon-force.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Photon Force is a privately held Edinburgh-based image sensor startup founded in 2015, supplying innovative, high-accuracy sensor technology to the image sensing community from a 1-10 person team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Image Sensors

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519), Instrument Manufacturing for Measuring and Testing Electricity and Electrical Signals (334515)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro primary industry

Imaging Sensors (CMOS/CCD/ToF/Depth) (HDAHALAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Optical & Light Sensors (Photodiodes/ALS/Color/UV) (HDAHALAE), Optoelectronic Receivers & Transceivers (Photodetectors/Optical Modules) (HDAHALAM), Machine Vision & Optical Sensing (Cameras, 3D vision, LiDAR, illumination) (IMAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Single photon sensors
• Time-of-flight imaging
• Fluorescence lifetime imaging
• SPAD image sensors
• Low light imaging

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Core offering

Photon Force designs and manufactures high-performance image sensor technology, including single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) sensors, for use in time-of-flight imaging, low-light imaging, fluorescence lifetime microscopy, and other photon-detection applications. The company provides innovative, high-quality, and accurate sensor solutions primarily to research, scientific, and industrial instrumentation buyers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• ID Quantique: Swiss vendor of single-photon detectors and quantum imaging/cryptography systems using SPAD technology. Comparable to Photon Force as a specialised supplier of high-sensitivity photodetector sensors for scientific and emerging quantum applications.
• Micro Photon Devices (MPD): Italian developer of single-photon counting modules and SPAD detectors used in FLIM, quantum optics, and time-resolved imaging. Directly comparable to Photon Force in both underlying sensor technology and end-application focus.
• Excelitas Technologies: Provider of photonic sensors and detectors including SPAD, SiPM, and APD products for LiDAR, medical imaging, and analytical instruments. Comparable to Photon Force in offering specialised photodetector and imaging sensor technology.
• Pi Imaging Technology: Specialist SPAD array and single-photon detector module vendor focused on scientific, biomedical, and quantum imaging. Closely comparable to Photon Force in product category (SPAD-based imaging sensors) and target customer base (research labs and OEM integrators).

Broad incumbents

• Hamamatsu Photonics: Global Japanese photonics incumbent with a broad portfolio including photodiodes, SPADs, and scientific imaging sensors. Comparable to Photon Force because both sell optical/photodetector and imaging sensor components used in scientific, industrial, and biomedical imaging applications.
• STMicroelectronics: Major semiconductor vendor with a direct SPAD-based sensor line (e.g., FlightSense ToF modules) used in consumer, industrial, and automotive depth sensing. Comparable to Photon Force as a competing SPAD/imaging sensor technology supplier.
• Sony Semiconductor Solutions: World-leading image sensor manufacturer (CMOS, ToF, SPAD research line). Comparable to Photon Force in the imaging sensor category and increasingly in the SPAD/single-photon detection space relevant to depth sensing and time-resolved imaging.
• onsemi (ON Semiconductor): Large-scale supplier of CMOS image sensors, depth sensors, and SiPM/SPAD-based detectors for automotive, industrial, and medical markets. Comparable to Photon Force as a provider of advanced optical/photodetector sensor technology across multiple end markets.
• Teledyne Technologies (Imaging & Scientific sensors): Diversified electronics group with strong imaging, scientific sensor, and detector product lines (CCD/CMOS, photodetectors). Comparable to Photon Force in serving scientific and industrial imaging customers with optical/photonic sensor components.
• Canon (SPAD sensor line): Imaging giant that has commercialised SPAD image sensors alongside its mainstream CMOS line, targeting low-light and 3D depth imaging. Comparable to Photon Force in the SPAD imaging sensor category and adjacent end markets.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Photon Force