Finnish deep-tech startup Agate Sensors has entered its first defence collaboration through an innovation contract with Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) under its Military Innovation Program. Agate Sensors, a spin-out from Aalto University, develops ultra-miniaturised hyperspectral sensors that provide biochemical and physiological insights far beyond what conventional wearables can detect. Through this partnership, the company will demonstrate its hyperspectral photoplethysmography (HPPG) technology in real-world, high-stress defence settings, helping Sweden’s armed forces better understand and predict human performance under pressure. The proof-of-concept program—running until March 2026—includes technical validation and joint demonstrations in Europe’s key defence innovation events.
Agate Sensors develops ultra-miniaturised hyperspectral sensors that capture detailed optical data beyond the capabilities of traditional photoplethysmography. Spun out from Aalto University in 2024, the company builds on over a decade of research in photonics and semiconductor physics. Its software-defined spectral sensing platform integrates hundreds of wavelength channels onto a single chip, enabling advanced physiological, environmental, and material analysis across multiple industries. Headquartered in Espoo, Agate Sensors focuses on translating laboratory-grade spectroscopy into scalable, real-world applications spanning defence, healthcare, industrial systems, and next-generation consumer devices. The company recently raised €5.6 million in funding.
The contract supports the first external demonstration of Agate Sensors’ physiological monitoring capabilities in high-stress, high-risk defence environments—one of several areas where its technology embedded in wearables could enhance understanding and decision-making. For Agate Sensors, this marks its first defence collaboration and a key milestone in moving its patented optical sensing technology from laboratory validation to operational evaluation.
Agate Sensors’ hyperspectral photoplethysmography (HPPG) technology delivers continuous, optical-based physiological insights that go beyond conventional wearables. Traditional PPG sensors—found in smartwatches and rings—use only a few light wavelengths to measure blood flow and heart rate. Agate Sensors’ HPPG captures hundreds, revealing subtle biochemical and metabolic signals that even the most advanced optical sensors cannot capture.
By compressing laboratory-grade spectroscopy into a solid-state chip small enough to sit on a fingertip, Agate Sensors has made high-accuracy spectral sensing software-defined, ultra-miniaturised, and adaptable for wearable integration.
“This isn’t an incremental step—it’s a new capability that changes how defence forces can understand, predict, and optimise human performance in the most demanding environments,” said Mikael Westerlund, Chief Business Officer at Agate Sensors.
This hyperspectral architecture enables early detection of physiological strain, stress, and cognitive fatigue—before they manifest as visible symptoms or degrade performance. Together, these advances represent a shift from reactive to predictive monitoring, offering defence organisations a fundamentally new understanding of human readiness.
Under the FMV contract, Agate Sensors will work with Swedish defence and industry experts to demonstrate its hyperspectral technology through a proof-of-concept program running through March 2026. Key milestones include technical validation and joint demonstrations in 2026, and presentation of the project with FMV at Purple NECtar 2025 (November 5, 2025), hosted by the Dutch Ministry of Defence, and at Defence Innovation Paris (November 27–29, 2025).
While the FMV collaboration focuses exclusively on human performance monitoring via wearable devices, Agate Sensors’ technology also shows longer-term potential in other precision-sensing areas of interest to defence—such as smart weapon optics, drone and counter-drone systems, and autonomous platforms.
The same miniaturised hyperspectral architecture can also enable deeper understanding and monitoring in next-generation consumer and professional devices—bringing laboratory-grade optical capability to everyday use.
Its precision and versatility open possibilities in product authentication, agricultural health monitoring, food quality assessment, and non-invasive wellness analysis— areas where deeper insight can lead to safer products, more sustainable systems, and improved human wellbeing.
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Read the orginal article: https://arcticstartup.com/agate-sensors-wins-swedish-defence-contract/
