Leica participates in $121M funding round for computational photography company Light
(Digital Photography Review)

As far as camera makers go, Leica and Light could not be further apart. Leica has a rich photographic heritage and, at least in the minds of many photographers, stands for beautifully manufactured mechanical devices. Light is a very new company and with its 16-sensor L16 camera is by many regarded as a spearhead of innovation in digital imaging. Nonetheless - or maybe because of those differences - Leica is now an investor and shareholder in Light. The latter just announced a $121 million Series D funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund. Leica is one of the participants in the round as well, investing an undisclosed amount. The company confirms that we will see Light-powered smartphones later this year In the announcement the company confirms that we will see Light-powered smartphones later this year and says it is planning to use the funding to expand in sectors beyond consumer imaging. `The new funding will allow Light to expand the reach of its imaging platform beyond consumer photography and into security, robotic, automotive, aerial and industrial imaging applications,` Leica on the other hand seems to be hoping to get its hands on on some of the computational imaging technologies that Light is developing. `With the rapid development of the computational photography, partnering with the innovators at Light [allows] Leica to extend its tradition of excellence into the computational photography era.`