Vancouver, Washington-based industrial AR start-up RealWear announced that it has raised an additional $80 million in Series B funding, combined with the $5 million in funding from Columbia Ventures Corporation earned earlier this year. RealWear has said it plans to use to “continue market expansion and accelerate its platform development.” RealWear teamed with JPMorgan Chase & Co. to architect an investment syndicate led by Teradyne, Inc. (TER), a global leader in industrial automation, and includes Bose Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures LLC (QCOM), Kopin Corporation (KOPN), and investors from JPMorgan’s (JPM) Private Bank. This latest round of funding brings RealWears total private financing to over $100 million.
“It was critical that RealWear’s new investors be business and technology leaders. Teradyne, Bose Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and Kopin fit that bill.” said Andy Lowery, RealWear’s co-founder and CEO. “Our seed investments came from friends, family, early customers, suppliers and business partners. Their faith carried us to our Series A, led by Columbia Ventures Corporation. CVC’s experience in heavy industry, one of our primary markets, made it a perfect match.”
The company has shipped over 15,000 devices to over 1,300 enterprise customers around the world, including German automaker BMW. The company deployed HMT-1 devices in all of its U.S. dealerships to give technicians in the shop the ability to connect directly to engineering experts located offsite. BMW said that the new AR-bases system helps its workers complete maintenance tasks up to 75% quicker than before.
For more on the use of lightweight, easy-to-use AR headsets, read our interview with Nigel Burton, the CTO of Realmax (RealWear’s joint venture company in China).
