Parkwalk Advisors has returned from earlier rounds to help drive the UEA spinout's bid for additional markets for its image augmentation technology.
Spectral Edge, a UK-based automated image enhancement spinout from University of East Anglia, obtained $5.3m on Wednesday from spinout-focused fund manager Parkwalk Advisors and IQ Capital.
Spun out from East Anglia’s Colour Lab in 2011, Spectral Edge started out developing video augmentation technology that used auxiliary image data such as infrared to differentiate more colours for people with colour blindness, an approach known as image fusion.
The technology has since been expanded into a software suite that can also enhance picture quality and reduce the strain of night-time viewing.
The capital will help Spectral grow its R&D team to 12 under the helm of Ilya Romanenko, the spinout’s new chief technology officer, previously director for computer vision research at semiconductor maker Arm.
The money will also fund development of image enhancement applications for smartphone photography, conference video calls and surveillance systems.
Spectral Edge raised $510,000 in a 2014 round backed by Iceni Seedcorn Fund and Midven’s Rainbow Seed Fund. It then secured $2.1m in 2016 from Martlet – the corporate venturing arm of aerospace, defence and property group Marshall of Cambridge – Wren Capital, Parkwalk, IQ Capital, Cambridge Capital Group, Midven’s Rainbow Seed Fund, Iceni and private investors from the Cambridge Angels syndicate.
Alastair Kilgour, chief investment officer at Parkwalk Advisors, said: “The technological progress at Spectral Edge in developing next-generation image fusion has been substantial since we made our first investment and with this fundraise commercial engagement with companies and industries looking for an edge in image enhancement, such as smartphones and security cameras, will be escalated.”