PROPHESEE, a company specializing in industrial vision, has just made the headlines with a fundraising of €50 million. Prophesee is the inventor of the world's most advanced neuromorphic vision systems and is now "Europe's best-funded fabless semiconductor startup".
We met its co-founder and CEO, Luca Verre, Lyon Centralien from the class of 2005.
November 04, 2022
Meeting with Luca Verre (ECL 2005), Co-founder and CEO of Prophesee
The career of a very international Centralian
Published by Luca VERRE (ECL 2005) and François RAMAGET (ECL 1979) | Entrepreneur Centralians
PROPHESEE, a company specializing in industrial vision, has just made the headlines with a fundraising of €50 million. Prophesee is the inventor of the world's most advanced neuromorphic vision systems and is now "Europe's best-funded fabless semiconductor startup".
We met its co-founder and CEO, Luca Verre, Lyon Centralien from the class of 2005.
Can you summarize your academic background for us?
I am Italian by origin and in 2005 I obtained a double degree: Master of Science in physics, electronics and industrial engineering from the Politecnico di Milano - and an engineering degree from the Ecole Centrale de Lyon, with a specialization in electronics . After starting my career in industry, I completed this course in 2013-2014 with an MBA from INSEAD.
What memories do you have of your studies at the École Centrale de Lyon?
I'm keeping a very good memory of it. First, because the classes were much smaller than at the Politecnico in Milan, which now has more than 35,000 students. And I appreciated the generalist approach of the School with courses in economics or mechanical engineering for example, which opened me up to other specialities. I remember very well that mechanics class where we were asked to disassemble and reassemble an engine, an exercise far removed from electronics... And then the extraordinary social life on campus, those Thursday evenings when I was the cook on my floor! And enriching exchanges with foreign students, from China, Brazil or elsewhere. These are experiences of openness to professions and cultures that have served me throughout the rest of my career.
What positions did you hold before creating Prophesee in 2014?
I first worked at Schneider Electric, in Sophia Antipolis, then in Japan where I spent 4 years in marketing positions. This position in Japan, I owe it in part to the ECL - because the School had allowed me to take Japanese lessons with a high quality teacher, Ms. Shimamori, author of reference books. And it was in Japan that I completed my 2nd year internship. After the Far East, I returned to Europe, to Germany first to take care of business development and then to Paris. In 2013, I decided to take a sabbatical year to take courses at INSEAD and it was there that I met my future partner, Director of Research at the Institut de la Vision.
What were the company's goals when it was founded?
We established the company in February 2014 to design an artificial model of the biological retina and thereby advance retinal implant technology. We made a first fundraising in order to develop innovative neuromorphic sensors, which are based on capturing changes in the image - rather than on acquiring the entire image. This is what we call Event-Based Vision systems for our vision systems.
How did Prophesee develop?
We started with collaborations with medical companies like Pixium Vision or GenSight Biologics to pursue our initial ambition to restore vision to the visually impaired. But we quickly perceived the potential of our solutions in other areas: Firstly, industry where our technology supports measurement, counting or inspection applications in sectors such as agri-food, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing , etc. But also the autonomous car for driving assistance systems – and mobile telephony where our solutions must make it possible to improve the shots of conventional sensors for moving subjects (“motion blur”). Finally, virtual reality and augmented reality where our products are used for eye tracking. With Prophesee, we have raised more than €100m to date and we have just welcomed Xiaomi among our investors. We are very confident in the prospects of the company, experts in metavision for machines.
What advice would you give to a young engineer today?
Technologies are constantly evolving and you have to be attentive. The autonomous car or the metaverse are areas that will experience exciting developments. The situation has changed a lot since the days when junior engineers dreamed of joining a large group. For young engineers, they need to be open to risks. Start-ups can offer them great opportunities. Responsibility is taken on more quickly and these young companies integrate criteria of impact on daily life. These are essential elements to take into account to guide your career.
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