Seattle Photonics Associates

What Seattle Photonics Associates does

Seattle Photonics Associates is a U.S.-based custom optical engineering and small-scale manufacturing firm founded in 1999 by Ned Nestorovic and headquartered in Bothell, Washington, operating as a division of Blaze Metrics LLC. The company offers end-to-end design, prototyping, and low-volume production of optical imaging, illumination, and spectroscopy systems, with in-house capabilities spanning lens and optomechanical design, stray-light analysis, photorealistic rendering, CNC machining to sub-0.010mm tolerances, clean room assembly, metrology, testing, and PCB fabrication. Its technology stack leverages commercial optical design tools (CodeV, Zemax, FRED) augmented by proprietary in-house software for rendering and stray-light mitigation, with wavelength coverage from 350nm to 10.6 microns and precision capabilities down to 2-micron decentering tolerance.

The firm serves enterprise customers across aerospace and defense (helmet-mounted displays, targeting systems, CRT replacement projectors, satellite optics), automotive OEMs and tier 1 suppliers (HUD and AR systems, with a granted patent on a novel low-profile automotive HUD), consumer electronics and technology companies (VR optical systems including pancake, Fresnel, and diffractive architectures), unmanned systems and drones, telecom (fan-in/fan-out optical switches, free-space optical communications), inspection and metrology, solar energy, and laser systems. Seattle Photonics works on prototype quantities of 1 to 10 systems and supports larger production runs of dozens to hundreds of units, pricing on a quote-based engagement model with revenue derived from professional engineering services and custom manufacturing. The senior engineering team carries 150+ years of combined experience, with origins in Hughes Aircraft and local Seattle engineering firms, and customer acquisition is primarily through direct B2B engagement via the company website and inbound enterprise inquiries.

Name

Seattle Photonics Associates

Legal name

Seattle Photonics Associates, a Division of Blaze Metrics LLC

Website

https://seattlephotonics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Seattle Photonics Associates is a U.S. custom optical engineering and low-volume manufacturing firm serving aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer electronics, telecom, and drone customers with end-to-end lens design, prototyping, CNC machining, clean room assembly, and metrology under one roof.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Optical Engineering Services

NAICS

Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Electric Lighting Fixture Manufacturing (335132), Electric Lamp Bulb and Other Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (335139)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Photographic Equipment & Supplies (3861), Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAGAFAB

Machine Vision & Optical Sensing (Cameras, 3D vision, LiDAR, illumination)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Electrical Equipment & Industrial Electronics/Sensors, Instrumentation & Measurement (Industrial sensing, metrology, test)

SECONDARYIMAGAIAG

Machine Vision & Inspection Lighting (Ring lights, bar lights, backlights, strobed illumination)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Electrical Equipment & Industrial Electronics/Lighting & Signaling Equipment (Industrial/commercial lighting, indicators)

SECONDARYHDAHACAG

Optoelectronic / Photonics Foundries (Silicon Photonics/LED/Laser)

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Semiconductors & Electronic Components/Semiconductor Foundries & Wafer Fabrication

SECONDARYCRACAPAF

Lenses & Optical Accessories (Lenses, Filters, Adapters, Teleconverters)

Consumer Products & Retail/Consumer Electronics & Appliances Retail/Cameras & Imaging Devices (Digital Cameras, Action Cams, Drones for Consumer Imaging)

Keywords

• Custom optical design
• Optomechanical engineering
• Precision optical manufacturing
• Stray light analysis
• Photonics prototyping

Headquarters

HQ city

Bothell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Optical Engineering Services: Contract optical and mechanical design and analysis services, integrated with testing and assembly capability. Projects range from concept through prototype to small-scale production. Revenue derived from engineering service fees and manufacturing of custom optical components and assemblies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Seattle Photonics Associates provides custom design, analysis, prototyping, and small-scale manufacturing of optical imaging, illumination, and spectroscopy systems for enterprise customers. The firm delivers vertically integrated optical engineering services including lens and lens system design, optomechanical engineering, precision CNC machining, clean room assembly, optical metrology, and stray light analysis across wavelengths from 350nm to 10.6 microns, supporting applications in augmented reality, head-up displays, LIDAR, virtual reality, helmet mounted displays, laser systems, telecom optics, and defense systems.

Product overview

Seattle Photonics Associates is a custom optical engineering and manufacturing firm founded in 1999 as a division of BlazeMetrics. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of optical products and engineering services, including specialized optical system products such as Augmented Reality Optical Systems, Head Up Display (HUD) Systems, LIDAR Systems, Projection Systems, Virtual Reality Optical Systems, Helmet Mounted Displays, Laser Systems, Drone Optical Assemblies, Telecom Optical Systems, Inspection Optical Systems, Solar Energy Optical Systems, and CRT Replacement Projectors. These products are supported by complementary engineering service modules including Optical Engineering Services (lens design, tolerancing, stray light analysis, photorealistic rendering), Manufacturing & Prototyping Services (CNC machine shop, assembly, clean room), Metrology & Testing Services, and PCB Fabrication Services. The company leverages over 150 years of combined engineering experience to provide concept-to-production capabilities under one roof for clients in aerospace, automotive, telecom, military, and industrial sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Optical Systems Design, Prototyping and Manufacturing Core custom design, analysis, prototype, and small-scale manufacture offering for optical imaging, illumination, and spectroscopy systems including miniature optical assemblies, microscopes, telescopes, satellite optics, drone optics, spectrometers, and inspection systems. Serves enterprise customers in aerospace, defense, automotive, telecom, and consumer electronics.
• Augmented Reality Optical Systems

Quantifiable outcome

• Tolerance precision of 0.010mm achievable on CNC machining
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• BlazeMetricscoreOthersA division of BlazeMetrics LLC, bringing complete end-to-end ideation, design and manufacturing of optical based systems and OEM components as part of the BlazeMetrics portfolio of scientific instrument manufacturing companies.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Edmund Optics: Large global optics and photonics supplier offering catalog optical components, custom optical assemblies, and engineering services. Overlaps with Seattle Photonics in custom optics design and manufacturing but at much larger scale and with broader product portfolio.
• Jenoptik: Global photonics and optical systems group providing custom optical components, laser systems, and machine vision solutions. Comparable in machine vision optics, LIDAR, and automotive HUD/lighting design at industrial scale.
• Thorlabs: Broad photonics equipment and components manufacturer with vertical integration in optics, lasers, and optomechanics. Comparable in vertical integration philosophy and serves similar R&D and OEM customer segments across quantum, biotech, and defense.
• Coherent (II-VI): Major photonics platform offering laser systems, optical components, and subsystems across communications, industrial, and defense. Overlaps with Seattle Photonics in LIDAR, laser systems, and telecom optics design and manufacturing.

Direct peers

• OptiPro Systems: Specialized optical fabrication and metrology equipment maker serving precision optics manufacturers. Comparable niche in precision optical manufacturing with focus on metrology and tight-tolerance fabrication.
• Optimax Systems: Custom precision optics manufacturer offering design, prototype, and production optical components. Closely comparable to Seattle Photonics in serving custom optical engineering needs across defense, semiconductor, and aerospace with vertical integration from prototype to production.
• LightPath Technologies: Designer and manufacturer of custom optical components and assemblies, including molded glass optics, for defense, telecommunications, and industrial applications. Comparable custom optics services business model at a public-company scale.

Emerging players

• DigiLens: AR waveguide display manufacturer whose work intersects with Seattle Photonics' augmented reality optical system design. Competes in AR optics space but with a different core technology focus (waveguides vs. broader optical system architectures).

Others

• Ansys Zemax: Optical design and simulation software (OpticStudio/Zemax) used as a core tool by Seattle Photonics. Adjacent rather than competing, but indicative of ecosystem participants in custom optical design.
• Synopsys Optical Solutions (Code V): Provider of optical design software (CodeV) used by Seattle Photonics for lens and system design. Complementary rather than competing, but shapes the design tooling ecosystem in which Seattle Photonics operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seattle-photonics-associates

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 Seattle Photonics Associates