Augmented reality: Meta acquires the manufacturer of smart lenses Luxexcel

Luxexcel, a Dutch company founded in 2009, claims to be able to integrate the elements needed to create an augmented reality experience into an optical glass, such as a holographic film.

Meta continues to advance on the development of technologies related to the metaverse and formalizes the acquisition of Luxexcel, a manufacturer of smart lenses.

Meta Makes the Acquisition of Luxexcel

Luxexcel, a Dutch company, specializes in the 3D printing of lenses, technologies that companies can use inside augmented reality glasses. The information was officially announced by the Dutch media De Tijd and Meta has since confirmed to The Verge that it has indeed purchased the company. In a blog post, Andrew Bosworth, CTO of Meta, stated that “Meta started the year 2022 with a new name and a new vision for the future, it is our job to bring this vision to life”.

On his side, Ryan Moore, head of communication for the company, stated that “we are excited for the Luxexcel team to join Meta. The opportunity to deepen the already existing partnership between our two companies”. If the amount of this acquisition has not been revealed, Andrew Bosworth stated a few weeks ago that “the company dedicates about half of its operating expenses to its metaverse-focused division, augmented reality and virtual reality”, while Meta continues to lose billions.

Luxexcel, a company founded in 2009, claims to be able to integrate the elements necessary to create an augmented reality experience into an optical lens, such as a holographic film. In 2021, it partnered with WaveOptics, the company that supplies the screens for Snap’s Spectacles, to create a lens capable of overlaying virtual objects on the user’s real-world environment. Meta is still heading in the same direction, but that doesn’t mean we will see an augmented reality glasses hit the market soon.

According to Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s augmented reality glasses “will require years of work to make the device thinner, lighter, faster, and more powerful”. However, Meta is not giving up and is doing everything it can to get closer to its ultimate goal. The American giant also partnered with Ray-Ban in 2021 to launch Ray-Ban Stories, a pair of smart glasses equipped with cameras, speakers, and microphones. The glasses are not yet equipped with built-in screens, but this is certainly an area in which Luxexcel could help Meta.