Automation equipment supplier Teradyne led an $80m series B round for US-based wearable tablet producer RealWear on Monday that consisted of a mixture of debt and equity financing.
The round included computing technology provider Kopin as well as Bose Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures, respective subsidiaries of audio equipment manufacturer Bose and mobile chipmaker Qualcomm.
Investment firm Columbia Ventures Corporation also participated, as did investors from JPMorgan Chase’s Private Bank, and undisclosed existing backers. It increased RealWear’s funding to more than $100m since it was founded in 2016, the company said.
RealWear has developed an industrial head-mounted wearable tablet computer that allows users to access information in harsh environments without using their hands.
The HMT-1 headset is a voice-controlled augmented reality device that places a virtual Android tablet just below the worker’s line of sight, providing them with remote video calling, document navigation and access to workflow and data.
Mark Jagiela, Teradyne’s president and chief executive, said: “RealWear has created a powerful platform that aligns with our vision for a safer, more productive work environment powered by easy to use, rapid [return-on-investment] automation solutions.
“RealWear’s strategy to leverage the power of advanced technologies like augmented reality to assist workers across a wide range of tasks has many parallels with Teradyne’s industrial automation strategy and we look forward to helping RealWear continue their exciting growth.”
Columbia Ventures Corporation completed a $5m investment in RealWear in February this year, according to GeekWire, with that funding likely contributing to this round. It also led the company’s $17m series A round in February 2018.