Augmented reality (AR) display-maker DigiLens recently secured $50 million in funding with the goal of lowering the costs of expensive AR waveguide displays. The Sunnyvale, California-based startup received Series C funding from UDC Ventures, the corporate venture arm Universal Display Corporation and Samsung Venture Investment Corp. This latest round of investors joins the likes of Niantic, Inc., Continental AG, Sony Innovation Fund, Diamond Edge Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, and others.
“UDC Ventures and Samsung Ventures have recognized through this investment that DigiLens is the frontrunner in waveguide technology and the only waveguide that can get to a consumer price point through its proprietary photopolymer, design software, and innovative manufacturing process,” said Chris Pickett, the CEO of DigiLens. “These partnerships provide the ecosystem that enables our technology to go into a variety of different display markets in a variety of different form factors.”
Waveguide displays allow projected images to be loaded in from the side of a sheet of glass, thanks to etchings that bounce the light around to form a complete image in front of your eye. This implementation is ideal for AR, where you want as little hardware as possible directly in front of your eye. While optics that just reflect an image onto a curved display are far cheaper, serious developments in waveguide tech are necessary to create consumer-friendly, stylish designs and a high-definition image.
DigiLens’ approach to waveguide displays involves a photopolymer material and holographic copy process to manufacture precision diffractive optics by printing, rather than precision etching. The company claims that the result is that the eyeglass display has higher efficiency and a wider field of view (FOV), noting that “its breakthrough copy manufacturing method delivers a cost performance unmatched by others.”
“We are excited to partner with DigiLens as they continue to focus on enabling a number of high growth markets with their patented holographic waveguide displays,” said Steven V. Abramson, President and CEO of Universal Display Corporation. “With parallels to our own business, we look forward to working together to bring best-in-class solutions to multiple industries and to collaborate on the future of OLED technology within the augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) display sector.”
With this funding, DigiLens plans to broaden development beyond enterprise and consumers, such as the auto industry, avionics, military technology. While AR glasses have had some fits and starts getting into the general consumers’ hands, much more success has been seen in the professional world, with several companies throwing their solutions into the ring. Lenovo’s recently announced ThinkReality A6 headset aims to compete with Microsoft’s HoloLens 2, and Microsoft is offering everything from rather tame workspace solutions to a controversial headset for the U.S. military. DigiLens themselves have entered the ring back during CES 2019 with DigiLens Crystal with the aim of providing professional AR glasses at consumer-friendly prices.
Though the competition from various sources is ultimately beneficial to everyone involved, differentiation between the various smartglasses manufacturers is starting to become a bit muddled. For new, upcoming, and existing players, finding that standout quality (such as being device agnostic, high-end performance, or mass-market appeal) will be crucial in not getting lost in the wave of new tech.
