Senseeker Engineering Acquires SE-IR Corporation

March 2, 2021 | Santa Barbara, CA

 

 

 

Senseeker Engineering, a leading innovator of digital infrared image sensing technology, has completed the acquisition of SE-IR Corporation, an industry leader in the field of cryogenic test equipment and electronics. The combination of Senseeker's advanced digital readout IC technology and SE-IR's industry standard test Dewars and electronics is a highly complementary amalgam that will enable focal plane array (FPA) developers to expedite their FPA development and evaluation process.

"Senseeker builds solutions that help our customers create higher performance sensors and get them into production faster," said Kenton Veeder, President at Senseeker Engineering. "Our continued commitment not to sell infrared FPAs is aligned with SE-IR, who has been a strong ecosystem partner to Senseeker and the infrared community for many years. Together we accelerate our customers' capabilities through expanded stand-alone and combined solutions incorporating integrated circuits, Dewars, electronics and software. We will heighten our customers technology and bring their solutions to market faster."

Senseeker and SE-IR share a common customer base of FPA developers that hybridize Senseeker-designed digital readout ICs to create infrared image sensors, then utilize SE-IR's test equipment to evaluate FPA operation at cryogenic temperatures. Bringing together the readout IC design and cryogenic test equipment design under one roof will enable a streamlined and higher-performance future that will simplify and expedite the FPA development process for Senseeker's customer base. In addition, the combined entity will be a more valuable supply chain partner and a one-stop shop for sensor houses, simplifying their supply chains.

All of SE-IR's existing products will continue to be supported and the SE-IR business and team are being integrated into Senseeker's organization. Senseeker will maintain the brand SEIR and repurpose it into Senseeker Engineering Infrared. Senseeker now offers readout ICs, cryogenic test equipment, electronics hardware and software as well as IC design services and various test services. These products and services enable FPA developers to accelerate infrared image sensor and system design and focus on their core imaging technology.

About Senseeker Engineering

Senseeker is a US transducer IC and cryogenic test solutions company that specializes in the design of state-of-the-art digital readout integrated circuits, cryogenic test equipment, electronics and software. Senseeker's products and IP enable FPA developers to produce world class infrared image sensing solutions. www.senseeker.com Read more at https://www.senseeker.com.

 

Media contact: info@senseeker.com | 1 (805) 617-0337

 

Press Release # PR-20210302  

 

SE-IR Acquisition Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. When did the deal close and what were the terms?

The agreement to acquire SE-IR was made public on March 2, 2021. The terms of the acquisition are undisclosed. Both Senseeker and SE-IR were privately held companies prior to the acquisition and Senseeker remains a 100% privately held company after this transaction. SE-IR's business and products are being integrated as seamlessly as possible into the Senseeker organization. The reputable SEIR brand name shall be retained for Senseeker's product line of electronics and cryogenic equipment and modified as Senseeker Engineering Infrared.

 

2. What does SE-IR bring to Senseeker?

Senseeker and SE-IR have both established strong reputations providing products and designs for focal plane array (FPA) developers. These products and designs are highly complementary and often Senseeker and SE-IR have teamed-up to support customers with readout ICs (from Senseeker) and cryogenic test equipment (from SE-IR). We have worked together closely for years to support the leading FPA developers in the United States. By bringing our companies together, we will further enhance support of our common customer base with a single organization focused on streamlining and simplifying our customers FPA development process.

 

3. Will Senseeker continue to invest in SE-IR's product lines?

Yes. SE-IR has built-up a reputation over decades as the industry's leading supplier of cryogenic test equipment including electronics and software. The demand for these products will continue to increase as the infrared image sensor market grows and Senseeker will continue to invest in these products to address this market. The tighter coupling between the design of the digital readout IC, cryogenic test equipment, as well as back-end electronics hardware and software, will improve the overall solution to customers by accelerating the availability of more holistic test solutions and advancing the functionality of these systems.

 

4. How will SE-IR's existing products be supported and how will new products be ordered?

The same team of people from SE-IR will continue to support existing products and customers. Our top priority in the integration phase of the acquisition is to ensure that customers do not experience any impact to 'business as usual'. Senseeker will complement this existing process with a mature customer-facing ordering process that will be convenient to SE-IR customers.

 

5. Are there any plans to obsolete any SE-IR products?

There are no plans to obsolete any SE-IR products.

 

6. How will existing Senseeker and SE-IR customers benefit from bringing SE-IR into the Senseeker organization?

Senseeker and SE-IR both already share many of the same customers. These customers will benefit logistically by trimming their supplier base. Senseeker readout IC customers will benefit in the future by knowing that back-end electronics and software are available to coincide with silicon availability, a Dewar that will accommodate the product will also be part of the ecosystem package. Existing SE-IR customers will benefit from the additional customer-facing resources and infrastructure that Senseeker has in place.

 

7. What is the combined Senseeker and SE-IR product roadmap?

The existing product lines and engineering services that Senseeker and SE-IR offer will continue to follow their charted course. There is no overlap between these products and services and they are extremely complementary. SE-IR products are today part of the ecosystem of popular lab bench equipment that is used to test FPAs. Many of these FPAs are based upon Senseeker's readout IC designs. The ability to align technical specifications of both the readout IC and the cryogenic test equipment early in the development process will result not only in faster availability of a more holistic test tool set, but also more tightly coupled software and opportunities to advance imaging performance.

 

8. Will Senseeker SEIR test equipment and electronics support FPAs that are not based upon Senseeker readout ICs?

Absolutely. Senseeker SEIR products will continue to support all FPA developers in simplifying cryogenic testing in the lab with proven quality test equipment, even when the FPA is not based upon a Senseeker readout IC. Furthermore, Senseeker's expanded capabilities to handle more complex business relationships will simplify supply chains at the larger firms.

 

9. Does Senseeker sell FPAs?

No. Senseeker's strength is in developing advanced digital readout ICs and test equipment to enable FPAs. Senseeker's customers develop FPAs and we are proud to play our part in supplying readout ICs, cryogenic test equipment and back-end electronics to help them create the highest-performance image sensors and simplify their FPA development process. We do have the capability to test chips, wafers and FPAs in our Santa Barbara facility and offer testing as a service to our customers.