Glass Imaging Expands to Finland, Opening Their First site in Europe
31.10.2024
Company Leverages Tampere’s Imaging Ecosystem and Local Technological Expertise. The quality of images captured by consumer mobile phone cameras is set to significantly improve in the coming years. U.S.-based leading AI-driven imaging company, Glass Imaging, has announced the opening of a new office in Tampere, Finland.
"“We are building a team of Computational Imaging experts and Machine Learning engineers who can harness the power of Edge AI to process and enhance image burst data on any camera," says Tom Bishop, Ph.D., co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Glass Imaging. " This is a highly specialized role that is difficult in general to recruit for, but we have seen that the talent pool in Tampere contains the kind of specialized engineers who understand how to create AI algorithms that efficiently process clear, defined images, with authentic detail and quality."
"I am delighted to welcome Glass Imaging to Tampere's imaging ecosystem and proud that our region was chosen as the location for their first European office," says Oliver Hussey, Head of New Investments at Business Tampere.
Imaging Phenomenon in Tampere
Tampere's imaging ecosystem includes over 25 companies and academic entities focused on the development of imaging, optics, and camera technologies. The ecosystem has developed into one of the world's leading imaging hubs, attracting a double-digit number of foreign companies to establish new product development units in Tampere over the past eight years. These companies include Microsoft (Surface), Amazon (Ring), Axon, and Flock Safety.
Tampere has a long-standing tradition of developing digital imaging and mobile technology—the city is the cradle of smartphone development, as the Nokia Communicator was developed there, and it has been a significant centre for imaging technology in smartphones for decades.
New engineers are being recruited in collaboration with Business Tampere, a Finnish non-profit organization that supports economic development. Business Tampere coordinates Tampere’s imaging ecosystem, promoting product development and research related to digital imaging products, services, and solutions. The new employees will join a team based in Los Altos, California, that is developing Glass Imaging's next-generation software and hardware solutions.
About Glass Imaging
Glass Imaging was founded by Ziv Attar and Tom Bishop, Ph.D, former Apple engineers who led the team and created the technology behind the iPhone’s Portrait Mode. Their mission with Glass is to revolutionize the quality of compact camera systems on smartphones, and close the gap with professional DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The broader Glass team has expertise across Optical Engineering, Computational Imaging, Deep Learning and efficient Computer Vision algorithms. Glass is currently developing licensable IP, including GlassAI, across novel camera architectures and software-based solutions. Exploiting the power of Edge AI chips present in today’s devices, the company’s GlassAI software can be tailored for any current or new camera to deliver photo quality far exceeding those shipped by OEMs. Glass is also using this technology to enable a new class of optical hardware designs that overcome limitations of traditional camera architectures.
For more information about Glass Imaging's operations in Tampere, please contact Oliver Hussey from Business Tampere, who has been a key figure in facilitating the U.S. company's establishment in Finland.
Oliver Hussey
Client Manager, Technology & Head of New Investments, Business Tampere +358 40 679 4142, oliver.hussey@businesstampere.com
