LensVector Features in Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal published an article about LensVector technology and history. The company, founded in 2006, has raised $53 million from venture capitalists and the investment arms of Samsung Electronics Co. and Eastman Kodak Co. It is expected to announce a $30 million funding round Thursday, and discuss its plans publicly for the first time.

Only 16% of camera-phones sold in 2009 have AF, according to iSuppli. TSR estimates the current cost of components and labor to add autofocus at around $3.50 to $4 per phone. LensVector CEO Derek Proudian plans his products to start at about the same price and get more cost-competitive as the company boosts production.

LensVector expects to eventually be able to churn out 60 million lenses a year from production lines in Silicon Valley, turning to external manufacturing partners later if needed. "It's not official yet, but I think there's a good chance we will see it this year" in Samsung cellphones, said Brian Kang, managing director of Samsung's venture-capital arm.

LensVector's technology is silent and works well with videocameras and could be used in computers and other devices beyond phones. The article also quotes Aptina as "familiar with LensVector's technology".

Update: Business Wire published LensVector's official PR. The company announced it has closed $30 million in a Series C financing round, bringing the total financial backing of the company to more than $50 million. Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) led the new funding and joins existing investors Menlo Ventures, Samsung, Silicon Valley Bank, Mitsui and Kodak. LensVector plans to use the financing to expand manufacturing capacity.

Update #2: LensVector web site comes to life. The pictures below explain what the company has designed (click to expand):