I’m still processing yesterday's Slush 100, and being very greateful to everyone across the world for the support and warm words! Winning is an incredible honor, but what truly stuck with me yesterday was how our judges (and now partners!) from General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures explicitly highlighted and acknowledged our world-class team. Being recognized not just for our technology, but for the people building it, is deeply humbling. I can truly say we have assembled an all-star team of extraordinary scientists, engineers, and operators. I'm inspired daily seeing how Christine, Saikat, Mark, Zhaoqiang, Abdelali, and Ali turn cutting-edge quantum research into working products that will keep people and assets in Space and on Earth safe. It’s a reminder that breakthroughs don’t happen in isolation. They happen because of brilliant, persistent, and passionate people coming together, tackling impossibly hard problems day after day. I wish I could've brought the entire team over to celebrate on stage, but this week Diffraqtion literally divided and conquered to pitch simultaneously across seven timezones, from the SDA TAP Lab demo day in Colorado, over the MIT Industrial Liaison Program, and of course at Slush. More on all of that later! It’s been an overwhelming 48 hours. Thank you to everyone for your support, to the Slush team for organizing such an incredible event, and to the fantastic Top 20 startups and of course the other two brilliant finalists Lucas Boller and Maximilian Hofer, with whom I had the honor to share the big stage! This is just the beginning. 🚀 🛰️
Diffraqtion
Defense and Space Manufacturing
Next generation intelligent vision super-powering satellites and machines.
About us
We make revolutionary smart cameras that see 20x further and understand what they see 1000x faster than the best current cameras and processors. Our technology is developed with NASA to fit into the Habitable Worlds Observatory, dedicated to find exoplanets that can support life. We are an early stage deeptech startup with roots in MIT and University of Arizona, headquartered in Boston.
- Website
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diffraqtion.com
External link for Diffraqtion
- Industry
- Defense and Space Manufacturing
- Company size
- 2-10 employees
- Headquarters
- Boston
- Type
- Privately Held
- Founded
- 2024
- Specialties
- quantum sensing, AI, Imaging AI, earth imaging, and satellites
Locations
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Primary
Get directions
Boston, US
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Get directions
Tucson, Arizona, US
Employees at Diffraqtion
Updates
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Diffraqtion reposted this
We are over the moon that Diffraqtion has won Slush 100, one of the most competitive startup competitions on the planet! Selected from more than a thousand applicants and crowned after an outstanding final pitch today, Johannes and the team secured the 1M€ Slush 100 prize from General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures, a remarkable milestone for our company. This recognition reflects the breakthrough nature of Diffraqtion’s visual AI hardware and software, a technology designed to help satellites and machines see further, process faster, and operate with unprecedented intelligence at the edge. A huge thank you to the entire Slush community and everyone who’s supported us along the way! An incredible moment, and just the beginning for our mission to transform Space and Physical AI! #Bostonspace #Slush100 #Slush2025 #Quantum #SpaceTech #DeepTech Christine Yi-Ting Wang Saikat Guha Mark Michael Abdelali S. Ali Kazemi Jahromi Zhaoqiang Peng QDNL Participations milemark•capital Tribute Labs
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We are over the moon that Diffraqtion has won Slush 100, one of the most competitive startup competitions on the planet! Selected from more than a thousand applicants and crowned after an outstanding final pitch today, Johannes and the team secured the 1M€ Slush 100 prize from General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures, a remarkable milestone for our company. This recognition reflects the breakthrough nature of Diffraqtion’s visual AI hardware and software, a technology designed to help satellites and machines see further, process faster, and operate with unprecedented intelligence at the edge. A huge thank you to the entire Slush community and everyone who’s supported us along the way! An incredible moment, and just the beginning for our mission to transform Space and Physical AI! #Bostonspace #Slush100 #Slush2025 #Quantum #SpaceTech #DeepTech Christine Yi-Ting Wang Saikat Guha Mark Michael Abdelali S. Ali Kazemi Jahromi Zhaoqiang Peng QDNL Participations milemark•capital Tribute Labs
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Big News from Finland: We’re thrilled to share that Diffraqtion has been selected as a finalist in the Slush 100 competition. From over a thousand of early-stage startups across Europe and North America, our CEO Johannes Galatsanos will take the main stage tomorrow in Helsinki to pitch Diffraqtion’s vision for the future of space and earth imaging. Being named one of the top three companies of Slush 2025 is an incredible honor, and a testament to the potential of the quantum imaging technology we’re building. A huge thank you to the Slush team and the judges for recognizing our work. And good luck, Johannes, we'll see you on the big stage! Onward and upward 🚀 go #Bostonspace #Slush100 #Slush2025 #QuantumImaging #SpaceTech #DeepTech
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Please welcome Abdelali S. to Diffraqtion! He joins us as our Senior Quantum AI Scientist, where he’ll be advancing the intersection of AI and quantum optics to push the limits of super-resolution imaging. Abdelali was born and raised in Morocco, where a love of mathematics first led him to physics, a field that, as he puts it, “connects the beauty of math with the reality of the world.” He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics and mathematical physics before coming to the U.S. to continue his studies at the City University of New York and later at Stevens Institute of Technology, where he completed his PhD. His doctoral research focused exactly on Diffraqtion's core tech, and he developed an AI-driven, physics-guided approach to overcome the diffraction barrier, resulting in a patent in super-resolution imaging. Alongside his research, Abdelali has been an adjunct professor at Columbia University, teaching quantum computing, quantum mechanics, and mathematical simulation. Teaching, he says, keeps him “connected to the next generation of scientists who will take quantum technology even further.” What drew you to Diffraqtion? “Diffraqtion is perfectly aligned with my skills and experience. My research in super-resolution and Diffraqtion’s work in quantum imaging are two sides of the same idea. Here, I can turn theory into a real product, something that can change how we see, from the smallest scale to the farthest distance.” Outside the lab, Abdelali stays active through swimming, boxing, tennis, and climbing. Welcome to the team, Abdelali. We’re thrilled to have you advancing the frontiers of quantum AI imaging with us! #Diffraqtion #QuantumImaging #AI #Quantumsensing #SpaceTech Christine Yi-Ting Wang Saikat Guha Mark Michael
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Please welcome Dr. Zhaoqiang Peng to Diffraqtion. The first hires of a startup are extremely crucial, so we spent months interviewing and selecting the perfect fits to bring Galileo-1 to orbit 🛰️. Zhaoqiang's stellar expertise in diffractive optics is bringing us closer to that reality. What drew you to a company that sits between two frontiers, quantum and space? "Quantum Fisher Information sets the ceiling on what light can tell us. By pushing instruments to that edge, we reveal the clear simplicity of space. It’s the most honest kind of exploration." How do you explain what you do to friends or family in one sentence? "I make super-smart space cameras that help us find tiny things far away." What’s a small habit that makes your day better? "I wake, breathe, sketch the day, and the hours fall into place." If your job had a theme song, what would it be? "Here Comes the Sun — The Beatles"
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See you at Climatetech Summit next week!
TICKETS ARE ALMOST SOLD OUT for #ClimatetechSummit next week! We're just a week away from the biggest day for climate innovation—feat. dozens of the coolest startups in the game ✨ plus a fantastic speaking program with insights from keynotes Eric Paley, Krishna Jonnalagadda, and John Arnold, a live podcast recording, a book launch, tons of pitches, and the best part of the day: our startup showcase in the lab! Get your tickets for Houston on Tuesday, Nov. 4: https://lnkd.in/eACsEzba Or for Boston on Thursday, Nov. 6 (showcase-only option available!): https://lnkd.in/ebJ4KA65 Psst... can't make the full day? Options to attend the afternoon showcase only or to attend virtually via livestream are available! See you there! 💫
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Diffraqtion is glad to be part of the Slush Top 20 startups this year! See you on stage in Helsinki Nov 18-19! Johannes Galatsanos Christine Yi-Ting Wang Saikat Guha Mark Michael
These 20 startups have made it to the Slush 100 semi-finals. It started with 1,000+ companies showing interest in the Slush 100 competition. Now, it's down to just 20 in the running for the grand investment prize of €1M from General Catalyst & Cherry Ventures. These are the teams that will take the Startup Stage on Day 1 of Slush. After that, three of them will pitch at the finals on Founder Stage on Day 2. Excited to have you at Slush 💚 🔹 alteva 🔹 ASPACE 🔹 Diffraqtion 🔹 Everday 🔹 Glimmer 🔹 Gyodi 🔹 ILLUTHERM GmbH 🔹 Kinetic 🔹 Merqury Cybersecurity 🔹 Normain 🔹 Parsewise 🔹 Prets 🔹 Rayca Precision 🔹 Rebaba 🔹 red cable robots 🔹 reLi Energy 🔹 SEATOM Technologies 🔹 Solace Care 🔹 UAP | Atmosphere Engineering 🔹 4QT See what they're building 👉 slush.org/slush100 We're 97% sold out. Get your ticket before it's too late 👉 slush.org
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Diffraqtion reposted this
Today, in collaboration with MIT Center for Quantum Engineering, CSAIL Alliances hosted "Quantum and AI: Applications and Innovations" at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Quantum is a hot topic right now, and we were thrilled to welcome 200 virtual and in-person attendees eager to stay current. We brought together MIT faculty experts with industry and startup perspectives to highlight exciting advances in quantum, and the possibilities for the future. Many thanks to MIT and CSAIL faculty Daniela Rus, Will Oliver, and Yael Kalai for presenting their current research and Vinod Vaikuntanathan, Kevin O'Brien, and Soonwon Choi for sharing their perspectives as part of the Recent Innovations and Research panel. Dell Technologies' Miguel Paredes Quiñones and Rich Salz from Akamai Technologies joined two startup members, Victor K. of Alice & Bob and Johannes Galatsanos of Diffraqtion, to explore the vast implications in industry and scientific advancement. What a rich and inspiring morning looking toward the future of quantum! Thank you to everyone involved, including our host Lori Glover and co-organizer Susie Yingjing Deng.
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Diffraqtion reposted this
Live long and prosper and happy Halloween from the Space Systems Command 🛰️ We had an (early) Halloween party at the SDA TAP Lab in Colorado Springs, and the Trekkie in me couldn’t resist dressing up and practicing my Vulcan Salute🖖 Fun fact: Leonard Nimoy (Spock), a fellow Boston native like Diffraqtion, found inspiration for his iconic gesture in the North Russell Street Synagogue. #bostonspace We’re excited to be part of the SDA TAP Lab led by Major Sean Allen. It is a truly unique collaborative and exploratory setting for #NATO allies to come together and push Space innovations further. Stay tuned for Demo Day where we will present our first #quantum camera products on space domain awareness! Mark Michael Christine Yi-Ting Wang Saikat Guha
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