Beat photonicsholographic display company has raised $28.27 million to arrange components for smart glasses and heads-up displays powered by artificial intelligence.
Swave said the Series A investment will catalyze the development of the Holographic eXtended Reality (HXR) platform, enabling users to experience smart glasses and heads-up displays powered by augmented reality (AR) artificial intelligence. The company will showcase its technology at CES 2025.
The financing round was co-led by investors Imec.xpand and SFPIM Relaunch, with participation from latest investors EIC Fund, IAG Capital Partners and Murata Electronics North America, in addition to existing investors Qbic Fund, PMV, Imec and Luminate.
Swave from Leuven, Belgium previously raised a $10.47 million seed round in 2023, which enabled the launch of Swave’s HXR technology, in addition to the development of Swave’s team of photonics and semiconductor veterans.
“This round will accelerate Swave product launches as we continue to solve the challenges of modern AR experiences with true holography,” Mike Noonen, Swave CEO, said in a statement. “We are delighted with the continued support from our existing and new investors. They recognize that Swave uniquely combines semiconductor, holographic and artificial intelligence technologies in a way that provides cost-effective and truly useful solutions.”
“AR glasses will become the primary interface for AI-based spatial computing and other applications, and Swave is uniquely positioned to enable this future,” Theo Marescaux, Swave and chief product officer, said in a statement. “We co-design every element – from our holographic SLMs with cutting-edge nanopixels, to real-time compute chips, lightweight engines and AR combinators – delivering the most advanced and integrated solution ever.”
“With Swave’s seed funding, we have successfully built our team, proven the capabilities of the technology and completed prototype designs,” Dmitri Choutov, chief operating officer, said in a statement. “With Series A financing secured and silicon production at our partner fabs, we are on track to launch product development kits and manufacturing equipment shortly thereafter.”
Swave’s HXR technology uses what it calls the “world’s smallest pixel” to shape light and sculpt high-quality 3D holographic images that create a reality-based user experience where digital information interacts and adapts to the user’s surroundings. Images allow the human visual system to process them naturally, using patented DynamicDepth technology.
All AR devices currently in the prototyping phase or on the market face challenges related to high cost, awkward size and weight, significant power consumption, and visual phenomena equivalent to compliance-accommodation conflict that cause nausea and fatigue in users. Swave’s unique HXR technology not only solves these problems, but also eliminates the need for the most costly components, equivalent to waveguides or varifocal lenses, inherent in existing AR devices.
Swave technology has been in development for over a decade, and the company currently holds 60 patents on core technologies. Keep moving announced HXR platform in April 2024, then achieving the world’s first true color holographic display and recently announced that HXR shall be recognized at CES 2025 with a CES Innovation Award.
