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WaveOptics Secures Funding to Scale the Business to Meet Growing Augmented Reality Market Demand

10.9.2019 11:30:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release

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WaveOptics, the world leading designer and manufacturer of waveguide displays, the key optical component used in Augmented Reality (AR) wearables, has closed an oversubscribed $39m (£30m) Series C funding round. WaveOptics raised an additional $13m (£10m) in the final stage, having raised an initial $26m (£20m) in December 2018.

This final stage was supported by existing investor Goertek, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of high-tech consumer electronics, and new investor Hostplus, one of the largest institutional investors in Australian venture capital.

WaveOptics has a unique market position as a leading AR hardware business at the heart of the rapidly growing AR ecosystem, which is widely forecast to be one of the biggest technological advancements since the smartphone.

David Hayes, WaveOptics CEO, commented:

“Completing the Series C funding is an another important step for the business, enabling us to accelerate our growth to meet the increasing international customer demand. The oversubscription also validates the quality and potential of our technology to our partners and investors and is clear recognition of our leading position in the AR market.

“We are seeing significant progress with our customers developing their own products based on our technology. This was demonstrated in the first half of 2019 when we secured a number of significant partnerships with global OEMs and ODMs.

“This is an exciting time and we are perfectly positioned to help our customers bring to market one of the most significant technologies since the launch of the smart phone.”

About WaveOptics

WaveOptics is the world leading designer and manufacturer of diffractive waveguides, the key optical component in wearable augmented reality (AR) devices.

AR wearables, such as smart glasses, enable users to see computer-generated images overlaid on top of the real world. There are two key elements that allow these images to be seen – a light source such as a minute projector and a means of transferring the image from the projector into the user’s eyes.

WaveOptics’ waveguide technology transfers the light waves from the light source and projects them into the user’s eye.

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Contact information

Instinctif Partners
Adrian Duffield/Chantal Woolcock
+44 20 7457 2077

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