Vitrealab announces $11m in investment funding
Vitrealab GmbH, a Vienna-based developer of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for laser–LCoS-based AR light engines, has closed a $11m round of Series A financing.
Strong investor interest was driven by an industry-wide inflection in Augmented Reality and Vitrealab’s technology’s strong fit with the performance, efficiency and form-factor demands of next generation AR devices.
The investment was led by LIFTT Italian Venture Capital and LIFTT EuroInvest with participation from Constructor Capital, aws Gründungsfonds, Gateway Ventures, PhotonVentures, xista Science Ventures, Moveon Technologies and Hermann Hauser Investment.
The funding will be used to accelerate the development and industrialisation of Vitrealab’s Quantum Light Chip (QLC). Vitrealab plans to strengthen collaborations with customers and partners, demonstrate next-generation light-engine architectures, and continue building the technical foundation required to bring AR displays into everyday use.
Vitrealab’s core technology uses photonic integrated circuits to precisely guide and shape coherent laser light for laser–LCoS light engines. The company’s approach is said to significantly reduce system complexity, optical losses, and sise, while preserving polarisation and beam quality. This enables higher brightness, wider fields of view, and lower power consumption in form factors suitable for lightweight AR smart glasses.
“The successful closing of our Series A is a strong validation of our technology and our vision for scalable AR display systems,” said Jonas Zeuner, CTO of Vitrealab. “This funding allows us to move from advanced prototypes to industrial-grade solutions, while continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible with photonic integrated circuits in display applications.”
The investor group brings together deep expertise in photonics, semiconductors, hardware commercialisation and photonics mass manufacturing. Their support will help Vitrealab strengthen its position as a key technology supplier within the AR ecosystem and accelerate partnerships across the optical value chain.
“Augmented Reality has reached a point where the market is ready but the hardware is not, and in particular the display,” said Marco Cravetto, Business Analyst at LIFTT. “Vitrealab addresses this challenge at its core with a proprietary laser-based technology that combines performance, industrial scalability and a strong European IP foundation.”
