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19 Sep 2024
Austrian developer of ultra-compact projection displays says it has extended series A funding beyond €20M.
TriLite, the Vienna-based startup that claims to have developed the world’s smallest projection displays, says it has won new financial backing from the venture wing of automotive parts giant Continental.
Alongside an unspecified global electronics firm, the latest strategic investment is said to have pushed TriLite’s series A venture funding round past the €20 million mark - and is expected to help enable a shift to mass production.
“With their extensive industry knowledge, technical expertise and operational resources, the [new] strategic investors will further accelerate TriLite’s go-to-market success,” announced the firm, which also has an office in San Francisco.
“Their involvement confirms TriLite’s commitment to advancing its footprint in both the augmented reality (AR) and automotive markets.”
Industrialization focus
Originally a finalist in the SPIE Startup Challenge back in 2015, TriLite went on to complete a round of seed funding in 2019, before raising an initial €8 million in venture support in 2021 from Hermann Hauser Investment and APEX Ventures, among others.
Last year the company won a Prism Award in the AR/VR/MR category, for its tiny “Trixel 3” laser beam scanner (LBS) product. It incorporates a micro-optical RGB laser light source and a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) mirror within a volume of less than one cubic centimeter.
Company CEO Peter Weigand said: “TriLite has proven the function and the product-to-market fit of its LBS technology for high-volume consumer applications.
“With this latest funding and the expertise of our strategic investors, we will qualify and industrialize our LBS optical engine for consumer AR systems and automotive applications.
“Our technology and our business strategy are consistently being evaluated very positively by customers and investors. This latest investment will enable us to focus on mass production and further improve our leading intellectual property position.”
Established supply chain
As well as being extraordinarily compact, Trixel 3 is said to offer unprecedented image performance and brightness, thereby enabling the development of consumer AR smart glasses and automotive driver information and passenger comfort applications.
Jürgen Bilo, managing director at the Continental Corporate Venture Capital Unit, commented: “TriLite has developed an outstanding display solution for AR applications and Continental places high value on TriLite’s innovative technology. Beyond consumer applications we see high potential in various automotive applications.”
TriLite has said previously that Trixel 3 production relies on established photonics hardware - unlike emerging approaches such as microLED-based displays.
The startup has qualified a high-volume manufacturing services platform based around partnerships with key suppliers, including MEMS mirrors from Infineon and TDK, RGB laser modules from ams Osram, and ultra-thin waveguides from Finland’s Dispelix.
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