The new speed of optical design.
From optical requirements to manufacturable designs, faster. Paraxial combines GPU-native optical computation with full double precision, a cloud workspace for rapid iteration, support for the .zmx file format, analysis, optimization, and tolerancing in one place—with agentic tools that can operate the workflow. Now in private beta.
Meet Paraxial at Optics + Photonics, 23–27 August in San Diego.
Benchmark: One million Monte Carlo trials in 34 seconds
Paraxial delivers an approved real-world 1,000,000-trial Monte Carlo workflow in 34 seconds out of the box using GPU-native full double precision.
The Problem: Optical design workflows were not built for modern hardware cycles
Setup takes too long
Turning requirements into a usable optical model, merit function, variables, and constraints still consumes too much senior engineering time.
Tolerancing happens too late
Monte Carlo and robustness analysis are often delayed until signoff because they are too slow to run during active design exploration.
Workflows do not scale
Optical engineers, mechanical engineers, systems engineers, and AI tools need a shared platform, not disconnected files, local installs, and manual handoffs.
One platform from optical requirements to manufacturable design
Import and export
Import and export the .zmx file format.
Analyze
Evaluate MTF, PSF, spot diagrams, wavefront, distortion, field curvature, chromatic behavior, Zernike, OPD, ray fans, relative illumination, and more.
Optimize
Configure design intent, variables, operands, constraints, glass substitutions, and design exploration workflows.
Tolerance
Run sensitivity analysis, inverse sensitivity, Monte Carlo, compensators, manufacturing tiers, and irregularity workflows inside the design environment. Optomechanical and thermal integration are on the roadmap.
Automate with AI agents
Ask Paraxial to build or open a system, configure design intent, design and compare candidates, run analyses, prepare tolerancing workflows, and operate the optical design environment.
Works with the optical files teams already use
Paraxial is designed to fit into existing optical engineering environments, not force teams to start from scratch. Import and export the .zmx file format to keep working with your existing design history. Additional formats are on the roadmap.
Tolerancing built into the design loop
Run classical tolerancing workflows directly inside Paraxial, including sensitivity analysis, inverse sensitivity, Monte Carlo, best-focus and airspace compensators, manufacturing tier assignment, and Zernike irregularity. Optomechanical and thermal analysis integration are on the roadmap.
GPU-native compute with full double precision
Paraxial runs optical computation on the GPU using 64-bit floating-point precision, so engineers can explore more often without trading away the numerical precision expected in optical engineering.
Built for teams designing precision optical systems
AR/VR and Displays
Pancake optics, waveguide combiners, compact projection systems, and display optics with tight packaging constraints.
LiDAR and Sensing
FMCW and ToF systems for autonomous vehicles, robotics, industrial metrology, and machine perception.
Biomedical and Imaging
Microscopy, endoscope relays, surgical imaging, compact cameras, and high-NA optical systems.
Precision Industrial Optics
Metrology systems, semiconductor inspection, lithography support optics, and high-performance imaging systems.
Book a product walkthrough
Qualified teams can meet Paraxial at Optics + Photonics or request a private beta workflow session.