Casimir has secured $12 million in seed funding to push a semiconductor chip that it says can generate continuous electrical power from quantum vacuum fields, placing one of physics’ most debated energy ideas on a commercial timetable.The Houston-based startup, founded by former NASA advanced propulsion researcher Dr Harold “Sonny” White, said the oversubscribed round was led by Scout Ventures and surpassed an initial target of $8 million. Lavrock Ventures, Cottonwood Technology, Capital Factory, American Deep Tech and Tim Draper of Draper Associates also joined the financing.
Casimir plans to use the capital to optimise the performance of its first-generation MicroSparc chip, a 5mm by 5mm device designed to deliver 1.5 volts at 25 microamps. That output places the device in the ultra-low-power category rather than mainstream battery replacement, but the company argues that even modest continuous power could reshape markets where battery maintenance is expensive, inconvenient or impractical.
The company is targeting commercial availability by 2028, with early applications expected in tyre pressure monitoring systems, embedded sensors, wearables, industrial monitoring hardware and other low-power electronics. Casimir has positioned the technology as a battery-free power source for devices that need long operating lives without charging ports, replacement cycles or wired connections.
White said the company had engineered a customised Casimir cavity into hardware capable of producing persistent electrical power. He said his work on future power systems during nearly two decades at NASA led him to the Casimir effect and quantum vacuum research.
The technology rests on the Casimir effect, a quantum phenomenon first proposed in 1948 by Dutch physicist Hendrik Casimir. It describes a tiny measurable force that can arise between closely spaced conductive surfaces because of changes in quantum field behaviour at extremely small scales. The effect has long been accepted in physics and has been measured experimentally, but using it as a practical electrical power source remains a far more ambitious claim.
Casimir says its chip architecture uses nanoscale structures to create an electrical potential from quantum vacuum fields. The firm has framed its near-term market carefully, focusing on microwatt-level applications rather than promising immediate disruption of grids, electric vehicles or consumer electronics. Its longer-term roadmap, however, extends into mobility platforms, consumer devices, artificial intelligence infrastructure and larger energy systems.
That wider ambition is likely to attract scrutiny. Quantum vacuum energy claims have historically drawn scepticism because they can collide with conventional interpretations of thermodynamics and energy conservation. Mainstream physics recognises the Casimir effect as a real force, but the question of whether it can be engineered into a scalable, reliable and economical power source is unresolved outside Casimir’s own development claims.
Casimir’s case rests partly on peer-reviewed theoretical work by White and collaborators, including a 2026 paper in Physical Review Research on a dynamic vacuum model. The company also points to research and development work involving nanofabrication and university partnerships. Even so, commercial validation will depend on independently tested devices, reproducible output, durability under operating conditions and manufacturing economics.
Scout Ventures’ involvement gives the company a dual-use technology profile. The venture firm focuses on technologies with national security and advanced infrastructure applications, and Casimir’s pitch fits demand for persistent power in distributed sensors, autonomous systems, defence monitoring networks and edge computing devices. Brad Harrison, Scout Ventures’ founder and managing partner, described the company as a breakthrough dual-use investment built on long-established science and moving towards a commercial product.
Battery constraints are a real commercial problem. Billions of small connected devices rely on coin cells, small rechargeable batteries or wired power. Maintenance costs can exceed device costs when sensors are embedded in machinery, vehicles, buildings or remote infrastructure. A chip that delivers even tens of microwatts continuously could support certain low-duty-cycle devices when paired with efficient electronics and power management systems.
Casimir’s initial claims remain modest in power terms. A 1.5-volt, 25-microamp output would not power smartphones, laptops or household appliances. It could, however, serve narrow applications where sensors sleep most of the time, transmit short data bursts and operate on extremely low energy budgets. Success in that segment would still require integration with existing semiconductor packaging, environmental testing and long-term reliability data.
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