Aroma Bit, a Tokyo-based deep technology startup, has raised JPY250 million (US$2.23 million) through a Series A led by existing investor, the Sony Innovation Fund, the venture capital arm of Sony Corporation.
Led by CEO Shunichiro Kuroki, who founded the company in 2014, Aroma Bit develops low-cost, compact digital sensors that identify and create visual maps, or “fingerprints” for smells.
“Our vision is to create a new language that allows us to communicate this abstract world of aroma thru aroma visualization technology,” said Kuroki on his company’s website.
Understanding that each individual interprets smells differently, Aroma Bit’s sensor technology can mimic the human olfactory system in an objective way, creating a universal digital language to convert the abstract into concrete, usable information.
Agriculture, and the food and beverage industries, are two of the sectors being specifically targeted by Aroma Bit. The company sees a natural fit for its technology through its ability to monitor food quality on an industrial scale, and its use to track uniformity in freshness across multiple production sites. There also is the potential for its sensors to be used post-production, in a retail or home setting, to detect and visually inform of food spoilage.
Spinning Many Plates
With the support of not only the Sony Innovation Fund, but from existing major shareholders, East Ventures and Innovation & Future Creation Inc., Aroma Bit is working to build out the world’s first aroma database using its sensor technology.
As part of its business strategy, and in support of this goal, the company has released two new products:
Aroma Coder – a highly sensitive, high odor resolution desktop odor measurement instrument, using the Aroma Bit’s 35 proprietary 35 odor adsorption films, that can generate more than five quadrillion patterns reflecting different odors.
And –
SDK-1Q – a kit that includes a sensor module prototype that can detect a targeted smell; fitting for industrial use and quality control.
Furthermore, over the course of this year, the company is planning to launch a new collaboration program through which it will develop industry-specific innovative solutions using its sensor and data technologies in connection with specific partner companies.
With the capital gained through this Series A, Aroma Bit will strive for the further maturation and development of its compact odor sensor; for continued cost reduction and mass production; for the enhancement of commercialization of its services and technology; for the build-out of its debut smell database/analysis cloud development; for the global expansion of its sales and marketing initiatives; and to realize its corporate vision of “Realizing better society by visualizing the invisible world of odor/aroma through aroma imaging technology.”
-Lynda Kiernan