Irida Labs Successfully Completes Investment Rounds

Company enters new phase focused on business expansion

PATRAS, Greece -- Aug. 26, 2013 --Irida Labs, a leading provider of technology and software for embedded vision applications, is pleased to announce that it recently completed two financing rounds for a total of $1.5M.  In August, a Series A funding, led by Alpha TANEO AKES Fund was completed.  Alpha/Taneo will be joining Irida's Board of Directors – bringing partnership and business expansion experience.  In June, individual investor Michael Tzannes made an angel investment in Irida Labs and has also joined the Board of Directors.  Michael has over 25 years of experience in the high tech industry and was Chief Technical Officer, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at publicly traded Aware, Inc.  

The investments will accelerate the execution of Irida Labs’ plans to provide leading edge embedded vision software for consumer electronics, mobile devices and automotive markets including video stabilization, face detection/recognition, low light image enhancement, pedestrian detection and traffic sign recognition.     

Michael Tzannes said “Irida has an excellent management team and is focused on an exciting area of the video market with very innovative products and a strong foundation in embedded vision technology."

Christos Karampelas, managing director at Alpha VCM, said “The Alpha TANEO fund is focused on high quality technology companies that are targeting growing markets.  Irida met our requirements in terms of commitment, strategic and managerial skills, and we are excited to partner with this highly promising start-up to pursue its ambitious goals in the area of computer vision applications.

Christos Theoharatos, president of the Board explained, “The investment from both private and institutional investors and their addition to our Board will enable Irida to better execute our business plan, strengthen our technology development, expand our product portfolio in embedded vision software and broaden our business activities worldwide.”

About Alpha TANEO AKES

Alpha TANEO AKES is a €30 mln. venture capital fund formed in 2008 with capital contributions by the New Economy Development Fund (TANEO) and Alpha Bank. The fund’s manager is Alpha Ventures Capital Management, a subsidiary of Alpha Bank. The fund invests in Greek small and medium sized enterprises at early stages of development with promising growth prospects, primarily arising from the application of innovative methods and technologies. When appropriate, Alpha TANEO AKES co-invests with other local and international reputable institutional and private investors.  

About Irida Labs

Irida Labs is a platform-independent leading technology provider of software and silicon intellectual property (IP) for embedded computer vision. Irida’s product portfolio includes embedded vision software and silicon IP for high throughput applications such as video stabilization, face detection and recognition, low-light video enhancement, pedestrian detection and traffic sign recognition addressing consumer electronics, mobile devices and automotive markets.  A start-up in Patras, Greece, Irida Labs is a member of the Greek Association of Semiconductor Industry (HASI) and the Corallia Cluster Initiative. For additional information about Irida’s products, please see www.iridalabs.com.