Foveon was initially known for their high-end digital portrait camera systems built around a color-separation beam-splitter prism assembly.

The name is derived from the fovea of the human eye, which enables sharp imaging while reading or watching television.

George Gilder wrote The Silicon Eye, which tells the story of Foveon and its founders.

On 11 November 2008, when Federico Faggin was the CEO, all shares of Foveon stock were acquired by Sigma Corporation.

At the end of 2020, the company ceased operations in Santa Clara and all further work was transferred to Sigma in Japan.