# Diffraqtion

> Diffraqtion is a Somerville, Massachusetts deeptech company building what it calls the first quantum camera for satellites and telescopes. Spun out of research at MIT and the University of Maryland, its photon-counting sensors paired with AI aim to extract far more information from incoming light than conventional CMOS or CCD sensors, letting smaller, cheaper optics see beyond the diffraction limit. The company targets space domain awareness, defense, and Earth observation, and raised $4.2M in pre-seed funding in January 2026 alongside a DARPA SBIR contract.

- **Founded:** 2024
- **Headquarters:** Somerville, Massachusetts, United States
- **Founders:** Johannes Galatsanos (Co-Founder & CEO), Christine Wang (Co-Founder & CTO), Saikat Guha (Co-Founder & Chief Science Advisor)
- **Team size:** ~12 employees
- **Products:** Quantum Camera, GALILEO-1 VSPU, Space Domain Awareness (SDA) service, Earth Observation (EO) service
- **Notable:** Won first place out of 1,000+ startups at SLUSH 100 (2025), with a $1.1M equity prize from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst, Named TechConnect 2025 Best Space Innovation ($100K award), Awarded a $1.5M DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract

## Products & services

- **Quantum Camera** — A photon-counting imaging system paired with AI algorithms that captures information beyond the diffraction limit, claiming up to 20x greater object-detection reach and 1,000x faster processing than conventional CMOS/CCD optical systems.
- **GALILEO-1 VSPU** — The flagship quantum-camera product/visual signal processing unit designed for integration into satellites and space observatories such as the Habitable Worlds Observatory.
- **Space Domain Awareness (SDA) service** — Tracking of smaller, faster orbital objects and debris to keep assets in orbit safe, with planned ground-telescope operations before orbital deployment.
- **Earth Observation (EO) service** — Ultra-high-resolution Earth imaging and analytics for agriculture, disaster response, environmental monitoring, and defense, output as data/analysis rather than raw images.

## Achievements

- Won first place out of 1,000+ startups at SLUSH 100 (2025), with a $1.1M equity prize from Cherry Ventures and General Catalyst
- Named TechConnect 2025 Best Space Innovation ($100K award)
- Awarded a $1.5M DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract
- Raised $4.2M pre-seed led by QDNL Participations (January 2026)
- Selected for the U.S. Space Force Apollo Accelerator
- Emerged from stealth in January 2026 with national defense and space press coverage

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — CEO Johannes Galatsanos featured as a speaker at SmallSat Europe.
- **2026-01** — Emerged from stealth, announced $4.2M pre-seed and a $1.5M DARPA SBIR Direct-to-Phase 2 contract.
- **2026-01** — Planned on-sky demonstrations with University of California Observatories in early 2026.
- **2025-11** — Won first prize out of 1,000+ startups at SLUSH 100.

## Links

- Website: https://diffraqtion.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/diffraqtion

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/diffraqtion
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-06