French startup iNGage, a fabless developer of high-performance multi-axis inertial MEMS sensors for autonomous systems, has established a joint laboratory with French research institute CEA-Leti to accelerate the industrialization of its breakthrough M&NEMS technology.
The company's core innovation is a highly sensitive inertial measurement unit (IMU) that integrates three high-performance gyroscopes and three high-performance accelerometers into a single package. This M&NEMS (Micro & Nano Electro-Mechanical Systems) design combines a MEMS microsensor with a piezoresistive nano-gauge (NEMS), resulting in a component claimed to be ten times more sensitive than the capacitive MEMS sensors used in today's consumer and automotive devices.
This performance translates to a significant leap in navigation accuracy. According to iNGage, its sensor can maintain a vehicle's positional accuracy to within approximately 50 centimeters after one minute of high-speed travel without a GPS signal. This addresses a critical weakness in current affordable systems, which typically experience positional drift on the order of tens of meters under the same conditions.
The technology targets markets where traditional geolocation systems like GPS are unreliable, and existing high-accuracy inertial navigation systems are too bulky and expensive. iNGage's solution aims to provide very high accuracy regardless of the environment for applications in autonomous vehicles and robotics.
The company has gained notable recognition, having won the i-Lab 2024 contest sponsored by French public investment bank Bpifrance. In 2025, it was selected by the French automotive industry association (PFA) for its Automotive Lab startup studio, a program designed to fast-track the startup's integration into the automotive supply chain.
The immediate next steps for iNGage involve transferring its M&NEMS manufacturing process to a foundry and developing complete prototypes that integrate both the MEMS/NEMS sensor and the necessary embedded electronics for initial customer evaluations. The newly formed joint lab with CEA-Leti is a strategic move to accelerate this critical development and industrialization phase.