UK-based augmented reality (AR) technology developer WaveOptics raised £12m ($15.7m) yesterday in a series B round that included Robert Bosch Venture Capital, the corporate venturing arm of engineering and electronics conglomerate Robert Bosch.
Touchstone Innovations, the commercialisation firm spun out of Imperial College London, provided £3.1m of the funding while Octopus Investments and Gobi Ventures also took part in the round.
WaveOptics is working on augmented reality (AR) display technology, focusing on the underlying optics rather than hardware devices such as sensors, cameras and headgear. The company’s technology will facilitate the creation of high-quality, full colour transparent displays.
Touchstone, then known as Imperial Innovations, led a multi-million pound funding round for WaveOptics in December 2015 with participation from Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Octopus Investments, AR app developer Blippar and undisclosed angel investors.
Blippar had previously provided an undisclosed amount for the company in June 2015, marking its first investment in hardware or wearable technology.
Hongquan Jiang, Partner at Robert Bosch Venture Capital, said: “AR optics with great user experience and affordable cost in the mass production is the key for market adoption of AR products.
“WaveOptics‘ wave guides could become a game changer in this respect for the AR industry. We are very excited about the company and expect much synergy between WaveOptics and Bosch in a variety of AR applications.”
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.