QiOVA, a French expert in laser technology and its applications, has raised €1.3M to deploy its high-productivity laser material processing solutions in the industry. The team and the potential global impact of the project convinced Kreaxi, UI Investissement, CA LHL Capital Innovation and the Business Angels of Incit’Financement to join the adventure. Their contribution, complemented by the support of national investment bank BPI France, will help finance the international commercial deployment effort, the implementation of new generation production line and continuation of the technological leadership acquired during the first years of existence.
The laser is the production tool of the future : precise, non-contact and capable of processing all types of materials (glass, polymer, composites) with a minimal environmental footprint.
Based on a patented multi-beam technology, QiOVA’s solutions offer a paradigm shift from sequential logic to a parallelized approach that enables exceptional productivity leaps. Hundreds of beams are dynamically and independently controlled by proprietary software, ensuring unparalleled operational flexibility.
The primary target market is individual product traceability for tracking, anti-counterfeiting and brand protection applications. QiOVA’s industrial marking solutions enable product identification in the many situations where standard solutions fail to deliver. Primary targeted sectors are luxury goods, industry and of course the medical sector where individual traceability of medical devices is a legal obligation.
A second area of application is precision manufacturing, where QiOVA technology allows to keep the superior precision of laser processes while solving their intrinsic productivity deficit. Typical examples are surface texturing or micro-drilling, in industries ranging from automotive to cosmetics.
“Individual product traceability is an invaluable source of value creation for all stake-holders in the value chain: manufacturers, brands, governments and of course consumers. The potential is huge and at the heart of the digital transformation of the industry, since product identification is the link between the physical and digital worlds.
I am also very pleased that we can provide a path to bring precision laser applications to the factory floor, because they have an incredible potential for societal and environmental transformation. This is also a major growth driver for QIOVA, as this market combines high value-added with an average double-digit growth over the next 10 years”, says Florent Thibault, President of Qiova.
Pierre-Antoine Cognard, business manager at Kreaxi adds: “We are delighted to support the Qiova team in the commercial deployment of an innovation that constitutes a real game changer in the fields of laser marking and micromachining. Whether technically or through productivity gains, Qiova is finally making possible many promising uses of laser technologies.
According to Loïc Lucel, business manager at UI Investissement, “Qiova is a company that has developed leading expertise and technology in the field of laser marking and micromachining. This round of financing will enable the management team to realise its ambition to market this innovation on a large scale.” In Saint Etienne, the land of metallurgy-mechanics and optics, Qiova is an innovative company that is developing a disruptive process at the frontier between these two disciplines. Applications proposed by a proprietary product VULQ1, between multi-beam laser micromachining and surface texturing. A technology open to many applications that leaves many other possibilities open. Qiova is an industrial start-up that is paving the way for Industry 4.0 and capitalises on local training in optical excellence. Qiova is also a start-up with the ambitious desire to develop internationally. Finally, it is a structure that is perfectly integrated into the synergies of the regional ecosystem of research, technological platforms and acceleration support, as demonstrated by its membership of the Village by CA Loire Haute-Loire.
