Brolis Defence
Molėtų pl. 73, Vilnius, Vilnius county, LT-14259, Lithuania
Overview
Brolis Semiconductors was established in 2011 by three Vizbaras brothers – Augustinas, Kristijonas and Dominykas as a spin-off from famous Walter Schottky Institute in Munich, Germany. In 2012 the company attracted initial VC finding and built its state-of-the-art facility in Vilnius, Lithuania. Since then the company has been growing rapidly in terms of facility, personnel and product portfolio. In 2017, company recorded a profitable year with revenues of 6 M EUR (7.2 M USD) with a team of 16 engineers (375kEUR/employee), 12 M EUR in 2018 with 29 employees ( 344 kEUR/employee). Since July 2019, company has been split into two company groups based on the activity. Electro-optical systems for defence is covered by companies Brolis Semiconductors UAB (Lithuania) and Brolis Photonics Solutions Ltd (UK), whereas photonic sensor technology is covered by Brolis Sensor Technology (Lithuania) and Brolis Semiconductors BVBA (Belgium). Currently, the company group has 40+ employees across three European locations. Company is now privately owned by Vizbaras family, Light conversion, Zabolis and ARP Invest. Brolis develops unique non-invasive medical sensor technology for blood constituent monitoring based on Brolis proprietary light-source technology merged with photonic integrated circuit technology utilizing CMOS manufacturing process. New sensor technology allows access to multiple molecules including such critical target molecules as glucose, lactates, urea, albumin, ammonia and others. Brolis approach offers radical differentiation vs other contenders in the market - company makes its own custom and unique integrated photonic sensors that emit laser radiation for DIRECT interaction with target molecule. This allows real-time signal monitoring and opens completely new opportunities for wearable technology in the digital health and sports markets. Since 2012, Brolis has created a strong IP portfolio of 14 patents (2 granted and 12 pending). Company operates across three locations: headquarters and III-V semiconductor technology facility in Vilnius, Lithuania, Integrated photonics R&D office in Ghent, Belgium and defence sales office and system assembly site in Larne, Northern Ireland, UK.
- Total investments
- 1
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 3
Sector focus
- Hardware
- Health Care
- Laser
- Medical
- Security
- Semiconductor
- Sensor
Investment portfolio
- Granta Autonomy
Participated · Seed · Jul 2024
Granta Autonomy develops fully autonomous UAVs, lightweight direct‑drive micro gimbals, and Digital Datalink software for ISTAR and reconnaissance missions. Its flagship Hornet XR is a hand‑launched mini reconnaissance UAV with silent flight up to three hours, up to 160 km range, pre‑programmed autonomous missions, GNSS‑denied capability and deep‑stall self‑landing. The GS‑214X and GS‑218X micro gimbals are ultra‑lightweight systems that deliver clear daytime imaging to about 5 kilometres and provide thermal vision for nighttime operations. The company says its team has personally tested systems on Ukraine’s front lines and currently supplies a battery of UAVs to the Ukrainian army and Hornet UAVs to NATO forces across Europe. Founded by former military engineers Gediminas Guoba and Laurynas Litvinas and developing reconnaissance systems since 2015, Granta plans to ramp up manufacturing across Europe to reduce reliance on external sources. It recently closed a €1 million seed round to accelerate development and production of its UAVs, gimbals, and Digital Datalink software.