About SAAZ
SAAZ Micro, Inc., known as SAAZ, designs and manufactures image sensors, the chips that read them out, and complete cameras. Its devices detect light from ultraviolet to long-wave infrared. SAAZ sells them for space, aircraft, defense and specialty imaging work. Its products include very sensitive light detectors, event-based sensors that report only the pixels that change, and receivers for laser-based 3D mapping (LiDAR).
SAAZ is based in Camarillo, California. Atul Joshi founded the company and is its president and chief executive. The company told SBIR.gov it has 45 employees. SBIR.gov, the federal database of small-business research awards, lists 14 awards to SAAZ since 2022, worth about $13.1 million. Agencies include NASA, DARPA, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. SAAZ has also opened a UK office at Space Park Leicester, according to the park.
Funding Rounds (SEC Form D)
| First sale | Filed with SEC | Amount sold | Investors | Avg. check | Terms | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2026 | Oct 13, 2026amended Oct 27, 2026 | $3,500,000fully sold | 6 | $583K | OptionsRule 506(b) | Form D/A ↗1 earlier filing |
First sale is the date the first investor in the offering committed to invest. Companies must file Form D within 15 days of that date, so filing dates run later.
Why Investors Backed SAAZ
SAAZ designs image sensors, and the chips that read them, for satellites and missile-defense systems that must see ultraviolet and infrared light. What stands out is the government money it has won. The government's SBIR.gov database of small-business research awards lists 14 for SAAZ since 2022, worth about $13.1 million. Founder and chief executive Atul Joshi said in June 2026 that SAAZ wants to move its "proven technologies into scalable product platforms."
The problem it targets
SAAZ's case is that ordinary cameras struggle where its customers work. A wildfire seen from orbit has bright flames beside dark ground and smoke, and conventional space imagers lose detail at one end of that range. Commercial imaging systems add delay and motion blur when they track hypersonic targets. For its radiation-hardened chip, current products cannot both withstand space radiation and work at the cold temperatures that infrared sensing needs.
What the product does
SAAZ designs and manufactures sensors for ultraviolet, visible and infrared light, along with the chips that read them and complete cameras. Its product list includes Hyperion-IR, a space camera for mid-wave infrared light, and Hypervision event cameras. It also lists Helion-1064, a receiver for laser-based 3D mapping (LiDAR), and Acqubit single-photon detectors. Event-based sensors send only changes in brightness instead of full frames, which cuts delay, power use and data. Its facilities are certified to the AS9100D aerospace quality standard and ISO 9001.
Progress so far
SBIR.gov lists seven smaller Phase I awards and seven larger Phase II awards to SAAZ, worth about $13.1 million in total. Among the ten most recent, the biggest came from the Army ($2.0 million), the Missile Defense Agency ($1.9 million), DARPA ($1.8 million) and the Air Force ($1.8 million). NASA awarded $899,575 in 2025 for ALOHA, a wildfire-imaging sensor. SAAZ's clients include NASA, DARPA and U.S. defense contractors, according to Space Park Leicester. The park's Vinay Patel said SAAZ once delivered a detector for it on a very short deadline.
Who backs it
SAAZ's awards come from federal agencies. Its SBIR.gov record shows awards from NASA, DARPA, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency. Lockheed Martin supports SAAZ's Missile Defense Agency project with modeling and data analysis.
How the market is moving
In a 2023 proposal to the Navy, SAAZ argued that interest was growing in new infrared sensors that can detect hypersonic missiles. The Missile Defense Agency then awarded SAAZ a Phase II contract to build a prototype for tracking hypersonic objects in March 2026. Space Park Leicester's Vinay Patel said the UK government's new space strategy opens chances for SAAZ in brain-inspired (neuromorphic) sensors, LiDAR and deep-space optical communications.
We wrote this summary from public statements by SAAZ and its investors. It is not investment advice.
SAAZ in the News
Leadership Team
Executive officers and directors listed on SAAZ's Form D filed Oct 27, 2026.
Sources
- SECSAAZ Micro, Inc. Form D, filed Oct 13, 2026
- SECSAAZ Micro, Inc. filing history
- Company siteAbout page on saaz.com (what SAAZ does, leadership cards)
- Company siteNews post, June 16, 2026: Dr. Barry Behnken joins as product venture lead
- Company siteNews post, March 1, 2026: Missile Defense Agency Phase II SBIR (UNHIDES)
- Company siteNews post, September 1, 2025: Air Force contract for a radiation-hardened readout chip (REBAR)
- Company siteNews post, August 16, 2025: NASA Phase II award (ALOHA)
- ResearchSBIR.gov company record for SAAZ MICRO, INC.: 14 awards, $13,074,486, 45 employees, award abstracts
- ResearchSBIR.gov award REBAR (Air Force, $1,758,855): abstract and principal investigator Atul Joshi
- ResearchSBIR.gov award MANTIS (Navy, 2022): SAAZ's Camarillo street address
- Government siteCompanies House (UK): SAAZ MICRO UK LTD, incorporated July 14, 2026