AR/VR Startup Swave Photonics Raises $7.3M

Swave Photonics, a fabless semiconductor company and developer of holographic extended reality (HXR) technology oriented toward metaverse applications, raised €7 million ($7.3 million) in seed funding. The investment will be used to fund the commercialization of immersive 3D HXR (Holographic Extended Reality) gigapixel technology for a wide range of applications.

The company is a spinout of imec and Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Swave’s HXR technology is based on diffractive optics and enables 3D high-resolution images viewable with the naked eye. The technology features densely packed pixels to enable images comparable to 20/20 vision without requiring viewers to wear AR/VR headsets or prescription glasses. It bypasses the challenges of focal depth and eye tracking, enabling users to easily focus on nearby and faraway objects.

“Our vision is to help build the fundamental holographic technology to bring the metaverse to life and work,” said Theodore Marescaux, CEO and founder of Swave Photonics.

Swave’s Holographic Extended Reality (HXR) technology delivers lifelike, high-resolution 3D images that are viewable with the naked eye. The technology enables realistic 20/20 vision without requiring viewers to wear smart AR/VR headsets or prescription glasses. Courtesy of Swave Photonics.

Swave also said it plans to partner with AR/VR/XR and metaverse platforms.

The company’s HXR chips are manufactured using standard CMOS technology. Large chip versions (2 × 2 cm) are designed for ultrahigh-end holographic display applications and tiny 0.5 × 0.5 cm will target ultralightweight wearable devices. Initial HXR chip samples are expected to be available in 2023.