CIRCLE OPTICS INC

Rochester, NY · Defense · Still private

Virtual reality training simulations for military applications

Claim this profile

Follows are private to you and power your alerts

Updated Oct 23, 2026 · circleoptics.com

Sector: Defense
Headquarters: Rochester, NY
Total capital: $12.9M

Federal grants: $12.9M; 19 awards · 2020–2025; 9.5× sector median 2 awards
Private capital raised: None on recordNo Form D filings on SEC EDGAR. Some raises are not filed.
Federal contracts: None on recordNo federal contract awards found.
Granted patents: 11; 13 pending · first 2023

Capital timeline

Latest events

Sep 2025Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Stitch-free 360(D) Borescope For Rapid, High-fidelity Aircraft Inspection$1.7M
Sep 2025Federal grantNASA · Phase I · SBIR I Enhanced Panoptic Imaging For Class 1 Uavs$155K
Aug 2025Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Stitch-free Panoramic Sensor Network For Real-time Space Domain Awareness And Anomaly Detection$1.8M
Feb 2025Federal grantDefense · Phase I · "circle Optics, Inc" SBIR Phase I, For Cost-effective Distributed Aperture Systems For Enhanced Lwir Imaging, For Devcom C5ISR Rti$250K
Jan 2025Federal grantDefense · Phase I · Persistent Space Surveillance And Target Characterization Using Wide-field-of-view Optical Systems And Machine Learning$109K
Aug 2024Federal grantDefense · Phase I · Small Business Innovation Research On Panoramic Imaging For Autonomous Vehicles, Topic No. OSD234-P002$150K
May 2024Federal grantDefense · Phase I · STTR Phase I FX24D-PTCSO2-0473$110K

Show 12 earlier federal awards

May 2024Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Improved Image Capture For AI Training Simulation$458K
Feb 2024Federal grantDefense · Phase II · 3D Modeling Using 360-DEGREE Image Capture And Sensor Fusion$1.2M
Dec 2023Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Panoramic Camera For Tactically Responsive Space Capabilities$1.7M
Feb 2023Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Panoramic Image Capture for VR Training$1.2M
Aug 2022Federal grantDefense · Phase I · System for Panoramic Imaging of Local Space$250K
Jul 2022Federal grantNASA · Phase I · Enhanced Detect and Avoid Optical Sensing for Urban Air Mobility$150K
Mar 2022Federal grantNSF · Phase II · SBIR Phase II:Fast Panoramic Image Capture for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles$1.5M
Mar 2022Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Improved Image Capture for AI Training Simulation$750K
Feb 2022Federal grantDefense · Phase II · Next Generation Space-Based Imaging System$750K
Apr 2021Federal grantDefense · Phase I · Next Generation Space-Based Imaging System$50K
Dec 2020Federal grantDefense · Phase I · Agile Image Capture for Low Parallax Panoramic 360$150K
Aug 2020Federal grantNSF · Phase I · SBIR Phase I: A novel parallax-free, 360 degree panoramic camera system$276K

Node area is scaled to amount. Form D reports securities sold, which can differ from an announced round; filings are numbered in the order they were made.

Founders and team

No founders are linked to this company yet.

Founders appear once a person is matched to the company through its own patents, grants or filings. We never infer people from social profiles.

Checked: USPTO inventors; federal award principal investigators; SEC Form D related persons · Oct 23, 2026

Claim this profile to add your team

What it has protected

USPTO · 11 granted of 24

Feb 17, 2026GrantedMulti-camera Imaging SystemUSPTOUS D1,114,028
Feb 17, 2026GrantedMulti-camera Imaging SystemUSPTOUS D1,114,027
Jan 13, 2026GrantedImage Compositing with Adjacent Low Parallax CamerasUSPTOUS 12,526,526

Show all 24 patent records

Multi-camera Imaging SystemFeb 17, 2026 · US D1,114,028Granted
Multi-camera Imaging SystemFeb 17, 2026 · US D1,114,027Granted
Image Compositing with Adjacent Low Parallax CamerasJan 13, 2026 · US 12,526,526Granted
Mounting Systems For Multi-camera ImagersOct 9, 2025 · Application 19239600Pending
Lens Design For Low Parallax Panoramic Camera SystemsSep 11, 2025 · Application 19217645Pending
Mounting Systems For Multi-camera ImagersJun 17, 2025 · US 12,332,549Granted
Lens Design For Low Parallax Panoramic Camera SystemsMay 27, 2025 · US 12,313,825Granted
Multi-camera Panoramic Image Capture Devices with a Faceted DomeApr 29, 2025 · US 12,287,465Granted
Low Parallax Lens Design With Improved PerformanceMar 6, 2025 · Application 18488763Pending
Multi-camera Imaging SystemFeb 25, 2025 · US D1,064,024Granted
Imaging System, Method, And ApplicationsFeb 18, 2025 · US 12,231,773Granted
Image Compositing with Adjacent Low Parallax CamerasJan 16, 2025 · Application 18771629Pending
Opto-mechanics Of Panoramic Capture Devices With Abutting CamerasJan 2, 2025 · Application 18882433Pending
Low Parallax Imaging System With An Internal Space FrameNov 28, 2024 · Application 18794500Pending
Opto-mechanics Of Panoramic Capture Devices With Abutting CamerasSep 17, 2024 · US 12,092,800Granted
Low Parallax Imaging System With An Internal Space FrameSep 17, 2024 · US 12,092,948Granted
Imaging System, Method, And ApplicationsAug 29, 2023 · US 11,743,591Granted
Panoramic Camera System For Enhanced SensingMar 23, 2023 · Application 17798838Pending
Low Parallax Imaging System With An Internal Space FrameApplication PCTUS2021038552Pending
Image Compositing For Adjacent Cameras With Low-parallax ImagingApplication PCTUS2025011731Pending
Image Compositing With Adjacent Low-parallax CamerasApplication PCTUS2024037872Pending
Visor Type Camera Array SystemsApplication 63513721Pending
Image Compositing with Adjacent Low Parallax CamerasApplication 63513707Pending
Low Parallax Lens Design With Improved PerformanceApplication PCTUS2021065002Pending

Recent research by its founders

Panoramic camera array for UAV detection and navigation20260 cites
Panoramic Multi-Camera Enabled Situational Awareness for UAVs20250 cites

Circle Optics LLCShares a founder: Andrew Kurtz

Regulatory activity · Defense

Sector-level, not company-level

11 Jun 2026Danger Zone; Waters of Carr Creek and Whitehall Bay in the Vicinity of the Naval Support Activity AnnapolisEngineers Corps
13 Mar 2026Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2026-01; IntroductionNational Aeronautics and Space Administration
13 Mar 2026Federal Acquisition Regulation: Trade Agreements ThresholdsNational Aeronautics and Space Administration
13 Mar 2026Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2026-01; Small Entity Compliance GuideNational Aeronautics and Space Administration
27 Aug 2025Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-06; Small Entity Compliance GuideNational Aeronautics and Space Administration
27 Aug 2025Federal Acquisition Regulation; Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-06; IntroductionNational Aeronautics and Space Administration

Rules are matched to sector, not to company. Recent activity in a sector is context rather than a signal about this business — until rules are matched to what a company actually builds, the section is shown as context and nothing more.

Sources

Federal grants from SBIR/STTR, NIH, NSF and DoD records. Federal contracts from USAspending.gov. Private capital from SEC Form D. Patents from USPTO. Publications from OpenAlex. Regulatory activity from the Federal Register. Press matched on company name.

How to read this page

Figures show associations in public records, not causes or predictions. Nothing here is investment advice. An em-dash means no record was found under this company's name, not that none exists.

Data freshness

SEC Form D filings through Oct 23, 2026. SBIR and STTR awards through Oct 21, 2026.