Based at the EPFL Innovation Park, Hexisense is developing a semiconductor chip to detect gas leaks in vacuum environments. The startup has obtained a FIT Tech Seed loan of CHF 100’000 from the Foundation for Technological Innovation (FIT).
Vacuum environments are used in the production processes of numerous daily objects - from cell phones to pharmaceutical products. However, no vacuum is perfect since gas may leak into or emerge from the vacuum chamber. It is thus essential to track the amount and chemical identity of the gases more frequently to ensure process integrity.
Hexisense's affordable semiconductor gas sensors, which are gallium nitride semiconductor chips, allow for measuring individual gases in all vacuum systems in real-time and with unrivalled precision. Its first product is OxyGaN designed to measure total pressure and safeguard against unwanted air leaks or contaminated gas lines in real-time.
The newly acquired FIT seed loan will enable Hexisense to finalise the industrial prototype and launch tests scheduled with their first clients in fall 2020. The start-up targets, in particular, the markets of semiconductors, batteries and pharmaceutical products. In the long run, their solution might enable to integrate a gas detector in every smartphone.
Besides the FIT loan, Hexisense has previously obtained financial support from the EPFL Innogrant, Gebert Rüf Stiftung's Innobooster program. The startup is currently completing a seed round and aims to open a series A round in 2021.
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