Dispelix lands EUR 12 million investment for AR eyewear innovation – Knights of #slush event helped make connection with investor

Dispelix, a startup that creates displays for smart glasses and augmented reality devices, has won a EUR 12 million investment. The Espoo-based company is revolutionising the AR glasses industry with a technology that is ready for mass production. Dispelix met one of the investors at Knights of #slush event in 2017.

Dispelix has landed a EUR 12 million investment for a technological breakthrough in AR eyewear. The investors include the Finnish Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment) and 3M Ventures from the US. Dispelix’s technology is now ready for mass production – with the first product set for launch in early 2019.

What is it that makes Dispelix’s technology unique then? For one thing, the innovation removes a design problem that, until now, has troubled AR eyewear designers everywhere. They look clunky and are clumsy to wear – like a pair of robust ski goggles that don’t really fit. In contrast, Dispelix’s smart glasses are see-through and thin. They look like normal glasses that you want to wear. And secondly, Dispelix makes it possible to do all this cost-efficiently — enabling mass production.

Dispelix’s innovation has deep roots in Espoo Innovation Garden

Dispelix’s technological breakthrough in AR eyewear is another example of how world-class innovations grow and blossom in the Espoo Innovation Garden ecosystem.

The research for the technology started already in 2011 at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, one of the leading R&D organisations in Europe. Being true to the Espoo engineering stereotype, 90% of employees now working for Dispelix have a Ph.D. in physics. In total Dispelix has 19 employees but is planning to hire 18 more during 2019.

Dispelix met one of the new investors for the first time at Knights of #slush 2017 – a high-level matchmaking event organised by Espoo Marketing. At Knights of #slush, Espoo Marketing matches top-quality startups, such as Dispelix, with investors from Asia, North America and Northern Europe.

“We greatly appreciate having participated in Knights of #slush 2017 and Startup to Scaleup Launchpad Europe event activities under Espoo Marketing, such as engaging with Google Europe and Daimler,” says Antti Sunnari, CEO of Dispelix.

In December 2017, Knights of #slush attracted over EUR 875 billion worth of funds from all over the world. Even though the event is a Slush side event, last year the worth of funds present at Knights of #slush surpassed the worth attending the actual Slush event. In total, more than 100 investors connected with over top 80 startups and scaleups at Knights of #slush 2017.

“I believe that this is the best way that Finnish startups, and we at Dispelix, can grow, that is by getting assistance towards securing investors and exploring new international business opportunities with corporates,” Sunnari adds.

Startup – investor matchmaking goes digital

Until recently, Espoo Marketing has done the startup – investor matchmaking at physical events like Knights of #slush. Now the matches are made digitally as well. In November 2018, Espoo Marketing launched Launchpad, a digital matchmaking platform that connect startups with the right investors and corporations.

When a startup, investor or corporation signs up for Launchpad they get relevant information on exiting startups, innovation and partnership opportunities, can build their own innovation community, and connect directly with the right people.

Even though Espoo Marketing’s main focus is to help the startups located in Espoo, Launchpad is open to all startups in the capital area, rest of Finland, and Europe. This is why Espoo Marketing collaborates with Business Finland’s Deal Flow platform. For startups, this means that by registering for one of the digital services, they get visibility with investors in both.

Source: Kauppalehti (in Finnish)

Read more about Dispelix: www.dispelix.com