Quick take:
- Swave Photonics has completed a €7 million funding round to bring holographic eXtended Reality (HXR) to the metaverse.
- The company wants to make virtual reality practically indistinguishable from the real world.
- Swave is a spin-off from Belgium-based research institutions Imec and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).
Swave has ramped up its campaign to bring truly realistic artificial reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences to applications like the metaverse. The extended reality startup, spun off by Belgium-based research institutions Imec and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has raised €7 million.
Swave is developing a revolutionary holographic extended reality (HXR) technology that will make virtual reality almost virtually from the real world. The technology will deliver lifelike, high-resolution 3D images that are viewable with the naked eye to the metaverse.
According to Swave its HXR technology enables 1000x better pixel resolution removing the need to wear AR/VR headsets or prescription glasses.
The seed round was co-led by imec.xpand, a value-add venture capital fund focused on nanotechnology innovations and Flanders Future Techfund (FFTF), a Belgian/Flemish public investment fund.
QBIC, a Belgian inter-university venture capital fund also participated in the funding round.
Swave is leveraging the latest technological advances in photonics and holography to bring lifelike experiences to metaverse platforms, 360-degree holographic walls, 3D gaming, AR/VR/XR glasses, and more.
The technology can also be integrated into holographic headsets to deliver immersive 3D AR/VR/XR experiences with stunning high resolution, enabling users to enjoy a perfect depth of focus and 180-degree to 360-degree viewing angles.
Commenting on the potential applications of the HXR gigapixel technology, Theodore Marescaux, CEO and founder, Swave Photonics said: “Swave’s HXR gigapixel technology will forever change the way we see and experience displayed still images, videos and live imaging. True, lifelike and immersive metaverse experiences powered by Swave technology are poised to replace every AR/VR display and headset to the point where virtual, augmented or eXtended reality is practically indistinguishable from the real world.”
On the other hand, Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of Imec commented: “We are committed to making Swave a success and have great confidence that with their extensive patent portfolio and continued support of our teams and ecosystem, Swave can become one of the biggest disruptors for immersive 3D displays and a key accelerator for applications like the metaverse.”
Imec believes that Swave Photonics’ technology can unlock the full potential of the $93 billion AR/VR, metaverse market by finding a solution to the challenges the extended reality market faces.
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