Nanophotonics maker Dispelix sees $33 million in new funding

Finnish waveguide design technology company Dispelix has raised $33 million in a Series B funding round. The company makes single-layer waveguides and see-through displays, primarily focused on augmented reality applications. The new wave of cash will be used to increase the company’s ability to serve more OEM customers. To date, the firm has crested $50 million.

As mentioned when covering their €10 million round back in April of this year, one of the biggest stumbling blocks for the widespread adoption of AR optics is the bulkiness of the end product (we’ll leave Robert Scoble out of this). And like it or not, but with Mark and Co. going all-in on the Metaverse, Dispelix now finds itself in a unique position, as the demand for featherlight display technology is only bound to increase.

Without going too deep into the photonics and optics science involved, the Dispelix takes a nanophotonics-based waveguide approach and is able to deliver a single layer, full-color waveguide display. One that’s compact and light enough to fit comfortably into a pair of AR glasses, for example.

“Dispelix’ see-through displays are the lightest and thinnest on the market and maintain vivid colors, image quality, and wide field-of-view,” explains co-founder and CTO Juuso Olkkonen. “Our team of world-class scientists and engineers continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with our arsenal of unique software and hardware technologies - fundamentally changing the way nanophotonics-based waveguides are designed and delivered to the delight of our customers.”

And it’s not all talk at Dispelix, as the company has 43 granted or pending patent families, and reports that a number of OEM customers are currently integrating the technology into their own offerings, due to hit the market in 2023.

Dispelix’s Series B round was led by Atlantic Bridge alongside new investors CCB Trust and Flashpoint. All previous investors including Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, Finnish Industry Investment, and 3M Ventures followed on.

“We invested in Dispelix as they have a unique mix of technologies that delivers a superior end-user experience for mixed reality smart-glasses and other AR devices - offering the lightest, lowest power, and highest resolution displays,” said Paul Murray, Partner with Atlantic Bridge. “Their ability to scale these benefits for their growing list of OEMs will be a key enabler in the adoption of next-generation mixed reality platforms and to help deliver on the promise of the Metaverse.”