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Chroma has raised $25.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at Chroma.
Chroma has raised $25.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Founded in 1991 by Wim Auer, Paul Millman, Dick Stewart, Francis Kebbel, Wendy Cross, and Jay Reichman, Chroma Technology is a Bellows Falls, Vermont-based manufacturer of precision optical filters, coatings, and light sources. Operating as a fully employee-owned enterprise, the company produces high-performance photonics components utilized across the life sciences, medical diagnostics, aerospace, astronomy, and machine vision sectors. The organization supplies these specialized optical products to original equipment manufacturers, microscope producers, and various research laboratories, supported by a workforce of 100 to 140 dedicated employees. The firm generated $34.5 million in sales during 2019 and subsequently increased its production of specialized optical filters for essential Covid-related diagnostic testing. Under the leadership of executives like Chief Executive Officer Newell Lessell and Chief Technology Officer Janette Bombardier, the company recently sold its engineering subsidiary known as 89 North to Oxxius.
Chroma Technology Corp. (chroma.com) is a 100% employee-owned manufacturer of high-performance optical filters and components, specializing in thin-film coatings for precise light management across a 200-3000 nm spectral range.[1][2][3][4] It serves scientific research institutions, universities, medical device makers, and photonics firms with off-the-shelf and custom solutions like bandpass, notch, dichroic beamsplitters, and mirrors, enabling applications in fluorescence microscopy, spectroscopy, cytometry, laser instrumentation, DNA sequencing, astronomy, and machine vision.[1][3][4] As a certified B Corporation since 2013, Chroma emphasizes durability, high-volume production, and free technical support, generating $32.3 million in revenue with 130 employees based in Bellows Falls, Vermont.[2][4]
The company demonstrates steady growth through expansions like a 2022 Austin sales and service office and leadership additions such as a new CFO, reinforcing its role as a reliable OEM supplier in precision optics.[2]
Chroma Technology Corp. was founded in 1991 in Bellows Falls, Vermont, by six optics and manufacturing experts: Wim Auer, Paul Millman, Dick Stewart, Francis Kebbel, Wendy Cross, and Jay Reichman.[1][2] Established as a 100% employee-owned entity, it emerged to address demands for advanced optical filters in scientific applications, leveraging the founders' combined expertise to pioneer thin-film coating solutions.[1][2][3] Early focus on durability and custom designs quickly built traction in research and industrial sectors, evolving into a B Corporation committed to scientific partnerships and global operations in China, Germany, Japan, and the US.[2][4]
Chroma rides the wave of advancing photonics and life sciences, where precise optical components are essential for breakthroughs in microscopy, genomics, medical diagnostics, and AI-driven imaging.[1][3][4] Timing aligns with surging demand from biotech tools like flow cytometry and multi-photon lasers, amplified by post-pandemic R&D investments and precision medtech growth.[1][2] Market forces favoring domestic, high-quality suppliers—amid supply chain shifts—bolster Chroma, while its OEM role influences ecosystems by enabling innovations in astronomy, machine vision, and security without public customer lists revealing direct ties.[1][4] As an employee-owned B Corp, it models sustainable manufacturing in a capital-intensive field.
Chroma's employee-owned model and B Corp status position it for resilient growth amid photonics expansion, with expansions like the Austin office signaling momentum into 2026 and beyond.[2] Trends in biotech automation, quantum optics, and advanced imaging will drive demand for its filters, potentially expanding custom AI-vision and hyperspectral applications.[1][3][4] Influence may grow through deeper research partnerships, evolving from niche supplier to key enabler in next-gen scientific tools—cementing its foundational role in precision light control for discovery.
Chroma has raised $25.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $18.0M Seed in April 2023.
Chroma has raised $25.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Chroma's investors include Quiet Capital, Alt Capital, Array Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, C2 Investment, Darren Liccardo, Rouz Jazayeri, Cyberstarts VC, Jenny Fielding, Scott Hartley, FirstHand Alliance, General Catalyst.
Key people at Chroma.
