The stated aim of LCIF is not to fund London tech businesses that otherwise would not get funded but rather to enable those who can raise, to raise significantly more so that they have a sufficient money, time and resources to prove their business model. This way London based tech startups will be more able to raise their next round of funding and thereafter become the great tech companies that London so wants and requires. The London Co-Investment Fund was launched by the Deputy Mayor of London on the 4th December at City Hall. LCIF six co-investment partners has been selected based on their excellent track records of investing and supporting early stage tech businesses in London.

London Co-Investment Fund

The UCL Technology Fund is dedicated to investing in intellectual property commercialisation opportunities arising from UCL’s world-class research base, focusing in particular on the physical and life sciences. The Fund supports UCL in achieving the full potential of innovations that have prospects for outstanding societal and market impact, right through the development journey from initial proof of concept to practical commercial application.

UCL Technology Fund

SINTEF TTO & Venture invest in spin-off companies from SINTEF, NTNU and other research based institutions in Norway. Our dealflow reflect results from state-of-art research and cover a variety of sectors.  SINTEF Venture seek to co-invest with VC funds with sector expertise at an early stage.

SINTEF Venture AS

Best Horizon is a venture capital platform that provides financing, mentoring, and access to their contact and partner network. They have invested in ICT startups for more than a decade. They also have a portfolio of half a hundred companies in Portugal, Spain, USA, Brazil, and the Netherlands.

Best Horizon

Nordic XR Startups offers participating startups equity investment, mentorship opportunities, workspaces, and back-office services.

Nordic XR Startups

Sony Startup Acceleration Program invests in early-stage startups. In the Sony Startup Acceleration Program, startup owners will receive extensive business support that will challenge them, helping them develop and deliver a more focused offering. We will also evaluate further partnership and collaboration opportunities during and after the acceleration.

Sony Startup Acceleration Program

Criteria Venture Tech is the tech VC fund of CriteriaCaixa which invests in B2B SaaS and DeepTech companies in early and growth stages (Pre-Seed to Series C) managing more than €300M of AUM.

Criteria Venture Tech

Armilar Venture Partners  is a venture capital firm, with near 300 million euros of assets under management, represented by worldwide companies with innovative products and services that are improving our world, the way we live, and the way we do business.

Armilar Venture Partners

Iberis is an investment manager that operates a value-oriented investment management.

Iberis Capital

To be the first point of call for company founders from Central Europe who want to create history with their start-up. Our private independent early-stage boutique Venture Capital fund focuses on this promise. Our strategy is linked to technologies that benefit people and the planet. It’s a privilege for us to partner with people who see opportunities around the corner. To them success is not about mere status, it is about making an impact.

RKKVC

Boeing provides customers with high-quality, tailored, long-term solutions ranging from global commercial aircraft services, defense data analytics, and advanced modeling and simulation in Fleet. Several domestic carriers operate nearly 400 Boeing planes in the United Kingdom and Ireland. More than 120 Boeing Chinook, Apache, Poseidon, and C-17 aircraft provide battle-winning and life-saving capability to the United Kingdom's armed forces. The United Kingdom is an important market, supplier base, and source of some of the most innovative technology partners in the world.

Boeing

Aerospace Xelerated is The Boeing Company's 3-month accelerator for exceptional autonomy and AI startups striving to advance the future of aerospace. The programme was formerly known as the ATI Boeing Accelerator and offers £100k equity investment (structured as an uncapped SAFE note), a structured curriculum and curated access to industry, experts and investors.

Aerospace Xelerated

BlueCrow Capital is a venture capital firm.

BlueCrow Capital

3XP Global is an Asset Management firm with a distinct track record in terms of ESG Integration in the Investment Process and an Active Role in helping founders throughout the investment cycle.

3xP Global

KIT-AR

KIT-AR creates industrial-strength products for a variety of industries, including automotive, aerospace, and electronics. It assists manufacturers in reducing production errors by connecting and improving shopfloor employees. They are now able to get it right the first time, every time, all the time, thanks to their augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) products. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in London, England, United Kingdom.

UK-based KIT-AR combines AR and AI technology to offer solutions to production assembly workers in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and electronics to detect, track, and minimize production errors.

Technologies bringing about a new reality

Extended Reality

KIT-AR Closes £2.82M Funding Round

UK-based KIT-AR combines AR and AI technology to offer solutions to production assembly workers in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and electronics to detect, track, and minimize production errors.The company was spun out of University College London and Norwegian research institute SINTEF. Its solutions include 1) KIT-Build for digitizing procedure documents and checklists, 2) KIT-Assist for step-by-step instructions overlaid on top of equipment, 3) Kit-Smart for automatic quality assurance checks and 4) KIT-Insight which automates the quality assurance process by collecting data from processes carried out.Key customers and partnershipsNotable customers include Airbus, furniture assembly company Royo and robot manufacturing company Comau.Funding and financialsThe company’s latest funding round was in February 2024, where it raised EUR 3.3 million (~USD 3.6 million) led by 3XP Global and Blue Crow Capital. Proceeds were earmarked to speed up global growth, enlarge its workforce, and advance its goal of being the primary platform for augmented workers in the manufacturing industry.

Interplay Learning (Interplay) provides on-demand, interactive, and hands-on simulation learning courses for skilled trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, and facilities maintenance, through VR, mobile, and desktop applications. The learning courses also include simulated walkthrough videos where experts lead users through procedure guides methodically, with knowledge testing features and additional learning material such as wiring diagrams, equations, sample system configs, and charts at the end of each lesson. The platform also enables managers to track user progress.The company operates a subscription-based model with monthly packages for individuals (USD 54) and teams (USD 229), alongside a custom plan for larger organizations.Key customers and partnershipsNotable customers include Tesla and Rheem Manufacturing. Interplay’s customer usage rose by 445% YoY in 2020. As of February 2021, the platform had over 2,000 customers and 110,000 users across the US.Funding and financialsIn its last funding round (February 2021), Interplay raised USD 18 million in Series B funding co-led by S3 Ventures and Owl Ventures, the world’s largest venture capital firm focused on education technology. As part of the deal, Managing Director of Owl Ventures, Ian Chiu, joined Interplay’s board. The funds were raised to expand its offering to new markets and to accelerate its vision to combine immersive learning experiences with a human connection.

Interplay Learning

Switzerland-based WayRay develops holographic AR technology and hardware for the automobile sector. Its technology is used in head-up displays (HUDs) that project images into a driver’s field of vision to assist with navigation. Although its initial focus was on developing HUDs that can be purchased and installed in any vehicle, it has since pivoted to producing embedded HUD systems (i.e., hardware built into vehicles). WayRay’s HUDs are considered to provide a wider field of vision and combine data (location and mapping information) with vision data to generate images by projecting a laser beam through a Picture Generating Unit (PGU) onto a Holographic Optical Element (HOE).&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18537">May 2023</a>, WayRay announced integration of its AR displays into Tesla Model 3's in Switzerland, with plans to follow shortly afterwards in the US. Previously, in September 2021 the company launched its deep reality system that replaces the traditional car dashboard. In addition, WayRay launched “The Holograktor” dubbed the first “metaverse on wheels”, which can be driven conventionally or using a remote control via a 5G and satellite connection (November 2021).&nbsp;The company’s founder and CEO, Vitaly Ponomarev, identified that its systems are more advanced, backed by more patents, and potentially 20x smaller than comparable devices in the market. WayRay’s HQ in Switzerland also acts as a product design and development hub, while its R&amp;D center and prototyping factory are based in Russia.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company is backed by strategic investors such as luxury automaker Porsche, which highlighted the management’s expertise in space engineering, hardware, and software development as key reasons for its investment, Hyundai Motor Co., and Alibaba. It is also notable that these investors, particularly Hyundai, are looking at ways to potentially use WayRay’s technology to offer more services in the future. For instance, Hyundai believed that the technology could be used for smart cities and smart buildings, which are its new areas of interest.WayRay partnered with Karma Automotive, a producer of luxury electric vehicles, in December 2021 to support the implementation of its HUDs into their test fleet. Moreover, it partnered with a leader in designing and manufacturing specialty glass, AGP eGlass, in September 2021 to further proliferate its technology.&nbsp; Funding and financialsIt was reported in April 2021 that the company is considering a public listing at a USD 2 billion valuation via a SPAC, although no further updates on this have been announced as at January 2024.&nbsp;

WayRay

AmazeVR initially focused on developing VR technologies but pivoted to VR concerts in late 2019. The concerts are backed by proprietary 9K cameras and software that automate complex VR concert visual effects that run on more than 100 headsets simultaneously. Users join and hang out with other users as avatars while experiencing VR concerts. It intends to bring VR concerts by major artists to theaters and eventually, homes.AmazeVR rolled out its first commercial VR concert, which will feature 3x Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, in 2022. The artist is expected to tour select AMC Theaters across the US. It is also in the final stages of closing deals with its second and third artists. AmazeVR also revealed plans to release weekly content by 2024 in theaters and for at-home viewers.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20145">July 2023</a>, AmazeVR launched its official AmazeVR Concerts app, featuring an exclusive VR concert from Swedish pop star, Zara Larsson. The app is available on major VR app stores, and the exclusive Zara Larsson VR concert can be accessed for a year at a launch price of USD 6.99. AmazeVR also produces and monetizes VR content on a subscription basis.As of August 2023, the company was in the process of producing and releasing mixed reality concerts by overlaying virtual elements onto live, real-world video.Funding and financialsThe company’s most recent funding was in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13338">September 2022</a>, when it raised USD 17 million in a Series B funding round led by Mirae Asset Capital. The fresh funds were allocated to expand partnerships with artists, artist management companies, labels, publishers, and agencies.

AmazeVR

Dispelix, based in Finland, designs and manufactures single-layer, full-color waveguide displays, a thin (about 1mm) transparent element that takes in a projected image and relays it to the eye, using a nanophotonics-based approach catering to AR applications (e.g., smart glasses). It uses laser beam scanning technology to render laser-sharp images with a gamut of color palettes, which are displayed using beam-combiner technology. Its patented and proprietary approach includes diffractive surface relief gratings, which are elements used for high-power laser applications, fabricated on high refractive index glass wafers that enhance field-of-view and image quality.The company had a total of more than 40 granted or pending patent families as of November 2021. Its product line, Dispelix DPX, includes Dispelix DPX - Ohut, Dispelix DPX - Selva, and Dispelix DPX - Sade with a varying degree of field of view, form factor, and weight. According to Co-Founder and CTO Juuso Olkkonen, its displays are the lightest and thinnest in the market.Key customers and partnerships1) Foxconn and Pegatron: to create reference designs for AR glasses based on its Selvä waveguide display (October 2023)&nbsp;2) VividQ: created a “waveguide combiner” which accurately displays variable-depth 3D content in a user’s environment (January 2023)3) ColorChip and Maradin: To further Light Beam Scanning (LBS) solutions for AR glasses (October 2022)4) Jade Bird Displays: To develop multiple reference designs for AR devices (June 2022)5) AAC Technologies: To improve waveguide displays for the AR and MR industry (March 2022)6) OQmented: for the development and commercialization of MEMS-based LBS technology (November 2021)7) Coretronic: To develop a range of AR optical module solutions (December 2020)8) Hoya Corporation: To improve quality of waveguide displays (November 2020)Funding and financialsIn its most recent funding round (November 2021), Dispelix raised USD 33 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Atlantic Bridge, CCB Trust, and Flashpoint with participation from Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, and 3M Ventures. The funds were allocated to product development. It revealed that several OEM customers were slated to integrate its technology into their consumer offerings by 2023.

Dispelix

DigiLens is a developer of holographic waveguides, which is a clear, thin piece of glass or plastic, used for AR devices. In January 2023, the company launched ARGO, an XR smartglass designed for enterprise and industrial use, the first AR device to utilize Qualcomm’s SnapDragon XR2 platform. Other specifications included 6-degrees of freedom (6-DoF) tracking, a 30-degree field-of-view, spatial audio, a 48MP RGB camera, voice and gaze recognition, access to real-time data visualizations, and a 2,500-nits HD display.&nbsp;The company’s first product, the DigiLens Crystal was introduced in 2019, was a thin-film laser-etched photopolymer embedded with microscopic holograms of mirror-like optics. By projecting a micro display to one end of the lens and another set of optics working to guide the light wave toward the eye, this proved to be an ideal piece of hardware for AR devices, which are preferred with as little hardware as possible.&nbsp;It claims that its patented optical platform and photopolymer technology coupled with a holographic copy manufacturing process enable it to produce cheaper and more scalable solutions. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17598">April 2023</a>, the company announced the launch of SRG+, a surface relief gratings product that improves upon its waveguide technology.The company generates revenue by licensing its technology across a range of industries including the automobile, enterprise, consumer, avionics, and military sectors. DigiLens also offers a white-label solution for automotive companies whereby it creates holographic waveguides for windshields that could offer in-cabin experiences for drivers.&nbsp;&nbsp; Key customers and partnershipsKey partnerships include that with1) Phantom Technologies: - Phantom Technology: To integrate Phantom's CASSI Spatial AI assistant into the DigiLens ARGO glasses, providing features such as spatial search, a contextual assistant, and task management using voice commands (October 2023)2) Wisear: To integrate its neural interface-powered earphones with the ARGO smart glasses (May 2023)3) Mojo Vision: To utilize Mojo Vision's micro-LED technology to build improved AR glasses (May 2023)4) Taqtile: To integrate the company's ARGO smart glasses with Taqtile's AR work platform, Manifest (May 2023)5) OMNIVISION: To develop new XR product offerings (January 2023)Other partnerships include that with OMNIVISION (January 2023), a leading global developer of semiconductor solutions to develop new XR product offerings. OMNIVISION’s liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) panels allowed DigiLens to build LCOS/LED projectors optimized for its holographic waveguides. OMNIVISION's core camera technology provides DigiLens' devices with features such as visual odometry and six degrees of freedom.&nbsp;DigiLens also works with Taiwanese licensed waveguide manufacturer Young Optics, Chinese original design manufacturer and electronics supplier Malata, Korean display manufacturer Sekonix, international technology company Continental, Chinese optical elements manufacturer Crystal Optech, and Mitsubishi Chemical.&nbsp;Funding and financialsIn April 2022, DigiLens announced the second close of its Series D funding round (intiial close in November 2021) in which it raised USD 50 million at a valuation of USD 530 million. The funds were allocated for the development of DesignV1, its second-generation product.

DigiLens

Companies developing XR headsets and relevant sub-components (displays, sensors, and processors). Also includes complementary XR hardware (tracking devices, haptic vests, and gloves)

Companies offering engines that enable the development of AR/VR content, also includes companies offering capabilities to capture and create 3D images for immersive environments

Companies offering AR/VR solutions or toolkits for specific industry applications, including VR game developers

Companies offering location-based AR/VR experiences

AR/VR platforms offer remote assistance to field experts and headset manufacturers facilitate virtual work

Some solutions in the "content" segment are offered under a B2B SaaS model

Headsets and content segments provide the building blocks for the metaverse

AR, VR, and MR are the primary enabling technologies for the XR industry

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 KIT-AR, an AR platform provider for the manufacturing industry, has raised EUR 3.3 million (~USD 3.6 million) in a funding round. The fund was led by 3XP Global and Blue Crow Capital and saw participation from Sintef Venture V, Criteria Venture Tech, and Armilar Venture Partners via the NOS 5G Fund and TechTransfer fund.
 The new investment will be used to fuel global expansion, hire additional staff, and strengthen KIT-AR's pursuit to become the top platform for augmented workers in the manufacturing sector.&nbsp; 
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 The round follows KIT-AR raising GBP 1.7 million (~USD 2.1 million) in seed funding in <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/11291"> June 2022 </a> , with proceeds used for product development. Additionally, the company was also ranked as one of the <a href="https: 
//www.xrtoday.com/mixed-reality/top-xr-providers-in-manufacturing-and-industrial/"> top XR providers </a> for the manufacturing and industrial sectors by news publication XRToday.&nbsp;

KIT-AR

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