ScentifAI Joins Silicon Catalyst Japan Portfolio to Bring Its CMOS Odor-Imaging Sensor to North America

MOU gives the Tokyo digital olfaction sensor startup hands-on U.S. go-to-market support, led by sensor-industry veteran Paul Pickering of Silicon Catalyst

TOKYO, JAPAN, November 11, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ScentifAI, Inc. (“ScentifAI”), developer of a CMOS sensor that captures odors as images, today announced that it has been selected as a portfolio company of Silicon Catalyst Japan Inc. (“SCJ”). The two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on October 7, 2026, under which SCJ and its U.S. organization, Silicon Catalyst, LCC(“Silicon Catalyst”), will support ScentifAI’s commercial expansion in the United States.

The U.S. program will be led by Paul Pickering, Managing Partner at Silicon Catalyst, who brings about 40 years of experience in semiconductors, MEMS and sensors. Pickering and the Silicon Catalyst team will work directly with ScentifAI on customer development in North America, initially in physical AI and robotics, food and beverage, healthcare, and industrial safety.

“Just as a camera captures light, our sensor captures odors,” said Shunichiro Kuroki, Representative Director and CEO of ScentifAI. “Silicon Catalyst understands the path from semiconductor prototype to commercial product inside out, and Paul Pickering has walked that path many times in the sensor industry. With their support, we will move quickly to bring machine olfaction to customers in North America.”

■Odor Imaging on a Single CMOS Chip
ScentifAI’s CMOS odor imaging sensor combines proprietary sensing membranes, which work much like the olfactory receptors in the nose, with a standard semiconductor CMOS process. Instead of producing a handful of readings, the sensor records an odor or chemical environment as a high-resolution “chemical fingerprint” — in effect, an image of a smell.

　•High resolution, tiny footprint: about 57,000 pixels on a 1.2 mm² sensing area, with all peripheral circuitry, including the drivers, integrated on a single silicon die of about 3 mm²
　•Built for volume: designed from the outset for miniaturization and low-cost mass production using standard CMOS manufacturing
　•Scalable chemical diversity: ScentifAI’s deposition and membrane-material technology allows the number of distinct sensing membranes to scale beyond the number of olfactory receptor types in a dog’s nose
　•Data and AI platform: ScentifAI is building a multimodal data platform that pairs chemical-fingerprint data with digital-olfaction AI, and is running proof-of-concept projects with leading global technology companies

Over the coming months, ScentifAI plans to begin co-development projects with North American customers, expand its chemical-fingerprint data collection to increase its value as AI training data, and raise additional capital from global investors.

“Electronic noses have long been held back by size, cost and resolution. ScentifAI’s approach — imaging odors on standard CMOS — addresses all three at once, and that is what makes it commercially compelling,” said Paul Pickering, Managing Partner at Silicon Catalyst. “We look forward to connecting the team with U.S. customers and partners and helping turn a remarkable technology into a product.”

■About ScentifAI, Inc.
ScentifAI develops CMOS odor imaging sensors and a digital-olfaction AI platform that give machines a sense of smell. Founded in September 2025, the company is headquartered at Sagami Bldg. 2F, 7-13-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Representative Director and CEO: Shunichiro Kuroki.
https://scentif.ai/

■About Silicon Catalyst Japan Inc.
Silicon Catalyst Japan Inc. is Japan’s only accelerator dedicated to semiconductors and deep tech. Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo. CEO & Representative Director: Kay Enjoji.
https://sicatalyst.jp/

■About Paul Pickering
Paul Pickering is Managing Partner at Silicon Catalyst. As Chief Revenue Officer of MEMS foundry Micralyne, he led revenue through the company’s 2019 acquisition by Teledyne Technologies. He invests in early-stage semiconductor and sensor technologies through Silicon Catalyst Angels and Microtech Ventures, has spoken at industry events including SEMI’s MEMS & Sensors Executive Congress, and serves on the committee of Sensors Converge, one of North America’s largest sensor-focused events.

■About Silicon Catalyst, LLC
Silicon Catalyst, LLC is an incubator focused exclusively on semiconductor and microtechnology startups. Based in Silicon Valley, it supports startups from prototype through market entry with a network of partners that includes leading semiconductor and EDA companies.
https://siliconcatalyst.com/

■Media Contacts
ScentifAI, Inc. | Public Relations | info@scentif.ai
Silicon Catalyst Japan Inc. | Public Relations | contact@sicatalyst.jp

ScentifAI
ScentifAI, Inc.
+81 3-4455-4609
info@scentif.ai
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