Germany-based holographic display manufacturer Light Field Lab has raised $28m in a series A round co-led by Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), the corporate venturing arm of industrial products group Robert Bosch.
Mass media groups Comcast and Liberty Global also invested, the latter through its Liberty Global Ventures unit, as did Samsung Ventures, Hella Ventures, Verizon Ventures and NTT Docomo Ventures, respective vehicles for electronics producer Samsung, auto parts supplier Hella and telecoms firms Verizon and NTT Docomo.
Venture capital firm Taiwania Capital co-led the round, which included fellow VC firm Khosla Ventures as well as Alumni Ventures Group, R7 Partners and Acme Capital, according to VentureBeat.
Light Field is working on holographic displays that will project 3D content that can be viewed without needing to wear virtual reality equipment, adjusting the display to track a viewer’s physical position, providing an experience akin to looking at objects suspended in mid-air.
The company plans to initially deploy the technology in large entertainment venues and in-vehicle infotainment systems, before eventually launching a variant for the consumer market. The series A cash will fund the development of a prototype version into a commercial product.
Khosla Ventures, Sherpa Capital and R7 Partners had previously combined to provide $7m in seed capital for Light Field in January 2018.
Ingo Ramesohl, managing director of RBVC, said: “Holographic display technologies enable entirely new business opportunities across consumer and enterprise markets including automotive in-vehicle infotainment. Light Field Lab has the leadership and technical expertise to bring this vision of the holographic future to life.”