Phaseform and the EIC Accelerator: Liquid Optics for Sharper Images

Phaseform, registered in Freiburg im Breisgau in 2020 with Pouya Rajaeipour, Stefan Weber and Kaustubh Banerjee as managing directors, makes Deformable Phase Plates, thin transparent optical elements whose shape can be changed electrically to correct the distortions that blur images in microscopes and eye scanners. In July 2024 it announced over €6 million in EIC Accelerator funding for ophthalmology and microscopy, and said the plates can improve image resolution up to tenfold, according to Phaseform. The grant project, DeltaSTAR, received an EU contribution of €2,157,637 and ran from October 2024 to 30 September 2026, according to CORDIS.

The project's first-year report says Phaseform improved coatings and stroke, validated robustness across temperatures and orientations, prototyped large-aperture variants for neuroscience, brought its software to commercial readiness for major microscopy platforms, deployed a camera-port microscope add-on and chose a dual European foundry supply strategy, according to CORDIS. Its PHI camera-port adaptive optics platform was a finalist for the Photonics Frontiers Award in May 2026, according to Phaseform. It has not published ophthalmology results.

Where Phaseform Stands Now

Phaseform sells the Delta 7 transmissive wavefront modulator and the PHI microscope add-on, and has named distributors including Axiom Optics for the US and Canada from March 2025, according to Phaseform, and partners in Japan, South Korea, China and France. In September 2026 it ran a pilot of PHI with the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) through the EIC's InnoMatch programme. The register shows capital increases in April and October 2025 and co-founder Kaustubh Banerjee leaving the management in June 2025, according to North Data.

The Technology: Correcting Blur in Transmission

Adaptive optics corrects distortions as light passes through tissue or the eye. Phaseform's plates work in transmission, so they can be added to a microscope's camera port without rebuilding it, and correct aberrations and focus in 3D without moving parts, the company says.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

DeltaSTAR promised deformable phase plates for adaptive optics in ophthalmology and microscopy. It ended on 30 September 2026 with microscopy products on sale and a distribution network. The ophthalmology application, such as sharper retinal imaging, has no published product or clinical result.

1. Microscopy productDeliveredPHI, Delta 7.
2. Commercial softwareDeliveredProject report.
3. Ophthalmology applicationUnverifiedNo results.
4. Manufacturing supply chainSetDual foundries.

The Money

Phaseform described its EIC award as over €6 million; with a €2.16 million grant, that implies at least €3.8 million of EIC equity. Its revenue and accounts were not published in the register data available.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Phaseform's goal is to make adaptive optics a standard tool in the life-science lab. A European component that brings it to standard microscopes and eye imaging would give researchers and doctors sharper images without new instruments. Phaseform has reached the lab market first.

The Verdict

Phaseform and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.