From research prototype to spin-off: Wavelens and the birth of KYMATONICS

Wavelens is a modular, reconfigurable adaptive optoelectronic device developed within academic research that has now been spun out as KYMATONICS. The device is presented in the form factor of a standard microscope objective lens and pairs hardware with control software to deliver precision light control. Developers say it targets multiple markets including microscopy, automotive external adaptive lighting, cryptography and secure communications, photolithography and optical fiber drivers. The project recently completed the Opportunities' Exploration phase of the European Innovation Council Tech to Market Venture Building Programme and is moving into the programme's final phase where it will receive tailored venture support services.

Who is behind the spin-off

KYMATONICS emerged from work at the Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas, commonly known as FORTH. The company lists Emmanouil Vergis as Chief Operating and Financial Officer. Vergis also remains a Research Associate at FORTH and has led the Wavelens market analysis, business plan and monitoring of technical progress as the project advanced through technology readiness levels. As KYMATONICS founder and early executive he handles administrative incorporation tasks and advises on confinement strategy and sales development.

What Wavelens claims to offer

The Wavelens system is described as a modular adaptive optical element that can be integrated in a microscope objective form factor. The team positions the technology as providing aberration free illumination, diffraction tolerance and improved resolution in microscopy. Beyond life sciences imaging the same modular platform is pitched at automotive adaptive lighting, secure optical communications, photolithography and as an optical fiber driver. Those are diverse markets with distinct regulatory and industrial requirements so commercialisation will require tailored productisation routes for each use case.

EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme and Wavelens’ path

The EIC Tech to Market (T2M) Venture Building Programme is designed to help projects funded under EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition move from lab prototypes toward marketable ventures. The programme runs through staged activities: thematic Tech Demo Days to identify interesting projects, an Opportunities' Exploration phase to assess feasibility and commercial pathways, team creation services to recruit founders and key staff, and tailored Venture Support Services addressing finance, legal and human capital needs. According to EIC figures cited by the project, the Venture Building stream has onboarded 46 projects and produced 56 reports including feasibility assessments and patentability and Freedom to Operate studies.

What the Opportunities' Exploration phase delivered

For Wavelens the Opportunities' Exploration phase focused on a Market Opportunity Towards Commercialisation exercise and a Team Roadmap. The team says expert input changed their view on customers and guided a pivot in their business model. They also received a Freedom to Operate analysis of their intellectual property which informed market entry strategy. According to Vergis, the combination of market feedback and team work helped refine the spin-off plan and made the venture more investable.

Vergis highlighted practical benefits from expert discussions. They identified key challenges and potential customer priority shifts that increased the project's attractiveness to investors. The programme also prompted attention to team dynamics which is a recurrent weakness in academic spin-outs where scientific founders may lack business experience.

Progress, realities and outstanding challenges

KYMATONICS reports two initial sales and first revenue which are positive early signals. The company is simultaneously in conversations with venture capitalists and angel investors. The team faces a common crossroads for early stage deep tech companies. They must decide whether to raise outside capital and scale, or to proceed more slowly on internal resources, with the risk of diffusing limited time and funds across too many opportunities. The next practical steps they identify are matching with investors and securing partnerships with microscopy producers for industrialisation.

The company is entering the Venture Support Services phase of EIC T2M where it expects tailored advice on finance, legal affairs and human capital. That support can help with investor readiness, term sheet negotiations and recruitment of commercial or engineering talent but these services are not a substitute for substantive capital or manufacturing partnerships that hardware businesses require to scale.

Why this case matters for EU deep tech policy

KYMATONICS is an example of the pathway the EIC aims to create from publicly funded research to commercial ventures. The programme provides structured inputs that academic teams often lack, such as market validation, IP clarity and investor readiness. The case also highlights persistent challenges in the EU innovation ecosystem. Hardware oriented deep tech needs capital intensive industrialisation steps and channel partnerships which are frequently harder to secure than early stage software or services startups. EIC support can reduce friction but does not eliminate the need for later stage finance and industry adoption.

For policy makers and programme managers the Wavelens to KYMATONICS transition underscores the importance of linking venture building services to investor networks and industrial partners especially for hardware deep tech. It also illustrates the value of FTO studies early in the spin-out process. For founders the experience is a reminder that market feedback and team building are as crucial as technical progress when converting research into a viable company.

Next steps for KYMATONICS and what to watch

Near term areas to watch are whether KYMATONICS secures external funding and industrial partnership agreements, how it narrows product market focus among the listed use cases, and whether it can professionalise its team beyond the academic core. Success will depend on translating prototype performance into manufacturable, certified products and building sales channels. Observers should also watch how EIC T2M evolves its offer when the programme resumes broader activity, and whether it strengthens links to later stage funding and industrial adoption mechanisms.

For enquiries about the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme the EIC Community platform provides more information and a helpdesk entry point. The programme aims to accelerate venture creation from EIC-funded research but applicants and beneficiaries should treat expertise and advisory services as complements to, not replacements for, realistic planning around capital intensity, regulatory hurdles and time to market.