Snap Inc. will acquire WaveOptics, a start-up specializing in Augmented Reality lenses, for approximately $500 million.
WaveOptics, which is based in Oxfordshire, UK and has offices in Taipei and Beijing, develops AR lenses (also known as waveguides) and projectors which can be integrated into smart glasses, enabling users to see digital images overlaid on top of the real world. The waveguide technology transfers the light waves from the light source and projects them into the user’s eye. The technology produces a large eye-box, binocular viewing and a high field of view. WaveOptics previously announced $39 million in Series C funding, including investments from Octopus Ventures, IP Group plc, Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH, China’s Gobi Ventures, Goertek and new investor HostPlus.
