Optimized Optics, Inc.

Overview

Optics support defense systems from laser communications to Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance sensors, and commercial systems such as virtual reality glasses and self-driving vehicles. With laser communications, forces can communicate with greater bandwidth and smaller risk. And sensors are the limiting factor in problems from autonomy to counter-UAV systems. Optical materials have advanced rapidly, but humans' ability to use them has not kept up.

Artificial intelligence can explore more designs, helping humans find the best fit faster. With AI, we can design for real world conditions at the beginning rather than identify issues late in the process.

Our strategic advantage is that we understand both the problem and the solution. Aaron Margolis is an AI expert featured in the New York Times, and Alan Geller is an optical systems designer with almost 20 years of experience supporting both commercial and defense customers and 12 years running his own firm.

Our biggest competitive concern is existing optical systems design software firms, who are too committed to current products to disrupt the market. Another startup working on AI for opitc but focused on a 3D printed lens with limited capability.

We are pre-field, still at level 2 TRL, but planning for validation in 2026. We're doing problem discovery and looking for partners in research labs, original equipment manufacturers, and primes. We're applying to SBIRs, competitions, and other RFPs. Example problems include helping naval vessels and planes communicate without giving away positions. Another is autonomous ISR units sending data without fiber optic cables.

Every year, optics supports $2T of commercial products, from cameras to diagnostics, and $400B in defense. SATCOM is a $150B field, ripe for disruption from lasers with 5x the bandwidth. And all these areas are all growing at 5-10% annually.