Hardware defect scanning startup Glimpse claims 10-30x faster battery cell inspections

Glimpse's CT scanning software for hardware defect detection cuts battery cell inspection time by 10-30x, with over 100 customers including major automotive and electronics firms.

Glimpse, a hardware defect scanning startup, claims its software enables battery manufacturers to inspect cells 10 to 30 times faster than current methods using existing CT scanners. The company operates Scan On Demand centers in Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area and serves over 100 customers, including Anker, Lucid, and the U.S. Navy. Its deep learning algorithms compress scans and highlight defects while processing results on edge computers before sending to the cloud—a design that supports quality control in aerospace, automotive, and electronics. This approach directly addresses the 2017-2022 Chevrolet Bolt recall, which cost LG $1.9 billion due to battery cell assembly issues. By reducing defect detection time, Glimpse potentially lowers production costs for critical hardware components, especially batteries where manufacturing errors carry high financial stakes. For consumers, this could mean fewer costly recalls and more reliable electronics at lower prices. What to watch: whether Glimpse’s speed gains scale beyond battery cells and how pricing ($200–$5,000 per scan) affects adoption in mass-market hardware. Caveats: The 10-30x claim applies specifically to battery cell inspection with existing CT scanners; the $1.9 billion recall cost is tied to LG’s production issues in one recall event; and Glimpse’s mid-seven-figure revenue reflects current financials, not future projections.

Source: TechCrunch