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21 Oct 2021
Austrian developer of laser projection display technology targeting end market for “smart” glasses.
TriLite, a developer of projection display technology, has announced that it has raised €8 million ($9.3 million) in a new round of funding. The Vienna, Austria-based firm says the investment will “enable customers to bring mass market augmented reality eyewear to the consumer market”.
The participants in the funding round included APEX Ventures, B&C Innovation Investments, Hermann Hauser Investment, TEC Ventures and QC·Ventures amongst others. It follows an earlier seed funding round in December 2019. TriLite was named a finalist in the SPIE Startup Challenge in 2017 and in 2015.
Its ultra-compact projection displays – based on a micro-optical RGB laser source – are designed for consumer augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) applications, enabling AR/MR glasses “to finally overcome the bulkiness and weight that has so far prevented their mass market adoption,” says TriLite.
Worldwide shipments of head-mounted displays are forecast to grow at an annual rate of 60% CAGR between 2020 and 2027, the company states, adding that its laser beam scanner technology “is an essential enabler of this growth”.
Targeting OEMs in the AR/MR market
Alexander Moser-Parapatits, Managing Director at B&C Innovation Investments, commented, “We are excited to be part of TriLite as they leverage years of leading development to realize the smallest display to enable leading OEMs in the AR/MR market. We are looking forward to a long-term partnership with TriLite and we are convinced that this ground-breaking technology will provide substantial additional value to new products and applications.”
Deep-Tech pioneer, Hermann Hauser, Founder of Hermann Hauser Investment GmbH, added, “TriLite's tiny displays are set to be a game-changer for AR/MR glasses since they’ll be as lightweight as today’s eyewear, and this is sure to finally drive mass adoption of AR/MR in the consumer market.”
Peter Weigand, CEO at TriLite, commented, “This new round of funding will enable us to invest in innovation and increase our competitive advantage, whilst further strengthening our patent portfolio and building our manufacturing services platform.”
TriLite's Trixel 3 is claimed to be the world's smallest and lightest projection display, with a total volume of just 0.92cm3. Trixel 3 incorporates a micro-optical RGB laser light source and a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror, enabling it to generate bright, high-quality images while setting benchmarks for lowest power consumption.
The company has also invested in supporting software, which makes it simple for developers to adopt its solutions. The software includes proprietary calibration algorithms that enable the size and complexity of the optical system to be minimized.
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