AOS

What AOS does

Apollo Optical Systems (AOS) is a precision polymer optics manufacturer headquartered in West Henrietta, New York (Rochester area), producing custom optical components and subassemblies for OEM customers across automotive, medical devices, defense/tactical, consumer electronics (AR/VR), robotics, industrial metrology, and LED lighting. The company's core technology stack spans single-point diamond turning (SPDT) on three lathes (one Innolite IL300 and two Precitech Nanoform 200), precision polymer injection molding of spherical, aspheric, Fresnel, and diffractive surfaces in PMMA, polystyrene, polycarbonate, and COP/COC, in-house evaporative optical coatings, diffractive optics fabrication, optical and mechanical design services, and comprehensive metrology, including interferometers, white-light interferometers, and contact profilometry. AOS pursues a vertically integrated DFM-led model: optical and mechanical engineers work alongside customers from concept through high-volume production, and the February 2026 integration of Turning Point Tool brings plastic injection mold-making and CNC machining fully in-house from mold design through final optical production.

AOS monetizes predominantly through B2B hardware sales of custom-manufactured optical components priced via direct quotation based on design complexity, material selection, tooling, coating, and volume (prototype through millions of units), supplemented by professional design services and a free design-tooling entry point — the first comprehensive polymer catalog for Ansys Zemax OpticStudio — that drives design-in adoption upstream of the manufacturing sale. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales to OEM engineering teams with participation in industry events such as SPIE BIOS, Photonics West, and AutoSens InCabin. Quality systems are ISO 9001 certified and IATF 16949:2016 qualified for automotive programs, supporting long-lifecycle automotive platforms (DMS/OMS, LiDAR, HUD, sensor windows) with operating specifications across -40°C to +85°C. The company is privately held and has been backed by Pike Street Capital since May 2023.

Name

AOS

Legal name

Apollo Optical Systems Inc.

Website

https://apollooptical.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Apollo Optical Systems (AOS) is a Rochester, NY-based precision polymer optics manufacturer serving OEM customers in automotive, medical, defense, AR/VR, robotics, and industrial markets with vertically integrated design, SPDT prototyping, injection molding, coatings, assembly, and metrology services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Polymer Optics Manufacturing

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Injection Molded Optical & Transparent Parts (Lenses, Light Guides) (IMANAFAL)

Keywords

• Precision polymer optics
• Optical injection molding
• Single point diamond turning
• Diffractive optics fabrication
• Optical component manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

West Henrietta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Precision Optical Component Manufacturing: Design, prototyping, and mass production of precision polymer optical components for various industries including automotive, medical, defense, and consumer electronics. Revenue generated through manufacture and sale of custom optical components with pricing based on complexity, volume, and material requirements.
2. Custom Optical Design Services: In-house optical and mechanical design services collaborating with customers throughout the product development cycle. Includes design consultation, specifications development, optical concept development, tolerance studies, prototyping, and production support.
3. Design Tools and Software Integration: Free polymer catalog for Ansys Zemax OpticStudio distributed at no charge to drive design adoption and customer acquisition for manufacturing services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Apollo Optical Systems designs, prototypes, and manufactures precision polymer optical components and subassemblies for OEM customers across automotive, medical, defense, consumer electronics, robotics, and industrial metrology markets. Core capabilities include precision polymer injection molding and single-point diamond turning (SPDT), supported by in-house optical and mechanical design, evaporative coatings, assembly with UV bonding, diffractive optics, microlens arrays, metrology, and polymer raw material supply.

Product overview

Apollo Optical Systems is a precision polymer optics manufacturer offering a vertically integrated manufacturing platform. The core offering centers on precision polymer injection molding combined with single point diamond turning for prototyping and optical/mechanical design services. These foundational capabilities are extended through add-on modules including evaporative coatings, optical assembly with UV bonding, diffractive optics, microlens arrays, metrology and testing, and polymer raw materials selection. The company also provides a dedicated polymer materials catalog for Ansys Zemax OpticStudio. The portfolio serves diverse markets including automotive (driver monitoring systems, sensors), medical devices, tactical/defense, robotics, consumer (AR/VR), and LED lighting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Precision Polymer Injection Molding Precision injection molding of polymer optical components that produces consistent, high-quality parts meeting or exceeding industry standards. Supports low and high-volume production with capabilities for spherical, aspheric, Fresnel, and diffractive surfaces, using materials including PMMA, polystyrene, polycarbonate, and cyclic olefin polymers/copolymers (COP/COC).
• Single Point Diamond Turning (SPDT) Precision diamond turning services for producing optical components from polymers and metals. Used for prototyping and low-to-moderate volume production with three SPDT lathes (one Innolite IL300 and two Precitech Nanoform 200), custom diamond tools with radii as small as 1.5 micron, and surface finishes of 60-80 Å RMS in polymers.
• Optical and Mechanical Design In-house optical and mechanical design services including design for manufacture, design verification, tolerance analysis, and design for imaging and illumination systems. Uses proprietary software combined with DIFFSYS for SPDT tool path creation.
• Coating as a Service (Evaporative Coatings) Anti-reflection (AR) and reflective thin film optical coatings applied to plastic and glass substrates. Coating materials include gold, silver, aluminum, and magnesium fluoride. All coating fixtures designed and built in-house.
• Optical Assembly Optical system assembly services including unique bonding processes for fabrication of polymer doublets and triplets, UV bonding, and low and high-volume assembly experience.
• Diffractive Optics Diffractive optical elements created using single-point diamond turning, achieving 97-99% efficiency at design wavelength with 1.5 nanometer RMS surface finish. Includes Fresnel lenses, kinoforms, binary optics, and hybrid refractive-diffractive lenses, fabricated from polymers and metals.
• Microlens Arrays Injection-molded microlens arrays produced from masters fabricated using RPC Photonics laser writing process. Used to manipulate light in a wide variety of optical systems.
• Metrology and Testing Comprehensive optical metrology and testing services including interferometers for surface figure measurement, contact profilometers, white light interferometers for surface roughness, and complete characterization of optical components and molding inserts.
• Polymer Raw Materials Supply Material selection expertise and supply of common polymers for optical components including polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polycarbonate (PC), cyclic olefin polymers/copolymers (COP/COC), and specialty optical polymers.
• Apollo Polymer Catalog for Ansys Zemax OpticStudio Comprehensive optical polymers catalog for Ansys Zemax OpticStudio optical design software. Provides precise refractive index data, dispersion characteristics, and optical properties of polymers for accurate modeling and simulation in early to late-stage design development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Components achieve 97% to 99% diffraction efficiency at design wavelength with 1.5 nanometer RMS surface finish
• +4 more outcomes

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered regional, core and minor.

• MilitramregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 May 2026Apollo partnered with Militram to expand presence in Israel. This partnership brings Apollo closer to customers in Israel, providing local channel support for Apollo's precision polymer optics in the Israeli market.
• Turning Point ToolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 February 2026Apollo Optical Systems completed the acquisition/integration of Turning Point Tool, a Rochester-based provider of plastic injection mold-making and CNC machining services. The integration brings critical tooling expertise in-house, enabling seamless coordination from mold design through final optical production while reducing complexity and improving speed and quality control. This creates a vertically integrated optics manufacturing platform.
• Ansys ZemaxcoreTechnology or Integration · 9 September 2024Apollo Optical Systems released the first comprehensive polymer catalog for use in Ansys Zemax OpticStudio optical design software. The catalog provides detailed refractive index data, dispersion characteristics, and optical properties of polymers for accurate modeling and simulation. The catalog is included as standard in OpticStudio releases and available as free download for existing users.
• SilvaCo OpticsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024Apollo Optical Systems announced a partnership with SilvaCo Optics. The partnership was announced in February 2024 to expand Apollo's optical coating and capabilities.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LightPath Technologies: Public US company specializing in precision molded glass and polymer optics for defense, medical, telecommunications, and industrial laser systems. Direct peer in custom molded polymer optics at scale, with overlapping end markets in defense and communications.
• Navitar: US precision optics manufacturer specializing in custom lens assemblies, machine vision optics, and imaging systems. Directly comparable in custom optical design and OEM-focused component manufacturing; Apollo CEO Don Ehinger previously held leadership roles at Navitar.
• Sydor Optics: Rochester, NY-based manufacturer of precision flat optics, laser optics, and custom optical components for scientific, defense, and industrial customers. Direct peer given shared Rochester base, custom-manufacturing focus, and overlap in defense and laser-related optical components.
• Optimax Systems: Rochester, NY-based precision optics manufacturer specializing in custom optical components, prototyping, and small-to-medium volume production across defense, medical, and aerospace. Closely comparable in geography, customer base, and custom-manufacturing focus to Apollo Optical Systems.
• Rochester Precision Optics: Rochester, NY-based precision custom optics manufacturer serving medical imaging, defense, and industrial markets with design, prototyping, and production capabilities. Direct comparable given shared geography, customer verticals, and custom small-to-medium batch model.
• FISBA: Swiss-headquartered precision optics manufacturer producing micro-optics, molded glass optics, and optical assemblies for medical, life sciences, defense, and industrial markets. Direct peer in custom precision optical components for OEM customers.

Broad incumbents

• Jenoptik: Large German photonics and precision optics group offering optical systems and components across automotive, semiconductor, and medical markets. Apollo CEO Don Ehinger previously held leadership at Jenoptik Optical Systems; a broad incumbent with overlapping automotive and polymer-related capabilities.
• Thorlabs: Large US photonics company offering optics, lasers, and optical components across research, life sciences, and industrial markets. Comparable as a broad incumbent with deep optical design and manufacturing scale that overlaps with Apollo's industrial metrology and research-oriented customer base.
• Edmund Optics: Global optics manufacturer and distributor with extensive catalog and custom capabilities across industrial, life sciences, semiconductor, and research markets. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering both stock and custom optical components to overlapping OEM customers.

Others

• Ansys Zemax (Optical Solutions Group): Owner of OpticStudio, the dominant optical design software platform, with which Apollo integrated its polymer catalog. Included as an ecosystem-enabling partner/complementary technology provider rather than a direct competitor, but Pike Street Capital previously led the Zemax investment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=iHkSMO6V0Dg
• Xx.com/ApolloOptical
• Facebookfacebook.com/ApolloOpticalSystems

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about AOS