Marie Anne van de Haar, CEO and CTO of Seaborough, has led her company to a third-place finish at the 16th annual SPIE Startup Challenge, held at Photonics West in San Francisco. Seaborough received a prize of $2,500 for EuroLED®, a nano-engineered phosphor technology that delivers brighter light at lower energy consumption, with the potential to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in the lighting industry.
The SPIE Startup Challenge supports new businesses and potential startups in optics and photonics working on innovative products, applications and technologies in healthcare and deep tech. Seven teams pitched their concepts to a panel of six industry judges.
Validation by peers
Van de Haar responded to the win in a statement to Photonics Online: “It’s very nice to get confirmation, especially from this type of audience, that what we’re doing is meaningful and interesting. I’ve already made some connections.” Although it was her first SPIE Startup Challenge, Van de Haar has attended Photonics West for nearly a decade.
Luminescent nanomaterials for LED lighting
Seaborough is a nanoscience and nanotechnology company specialising in luminescent nanomaterials for LED lighting, display and security applications. The company is headquartered at Science Park in Amsterdam and is part of the Momentum Global Ventures portfolio.
The $10,000 first prize went to Coalesenz Inc. for Lucerix CZ, a handheld coagulation analyser for point-of-care use. The $5,000 second prize was awarded to SPKL LLC for the SPKL Flow Monitor, a portable device capable of detecting a stroke at an early stage.
