Holographic display startup Light Field Lab has raised a $28 million Series A round of funding led by Bosch Venture Capital and Taiwania Capital. The San Jose-based startup wants to use the new cash infusion to build holographic displays, and eventually produce TVs that can recreate 3D holograms.
The company, which came out of stealth a little over 2 years ago, isn’t just talking about far-out futuristic display tech: Light Field Lab has actually developed a working prototype — a small display measuring 4 by 6 inches that’s capable of projecting 3D holograms into thin air.
The company gave Variety a demo last year, showing off a number of manipulations that wouldn’t be possible with the types of hologram-like illusions like the infamous Tupac hologram. “We are doing things that are real hard tech,” Light Field Lab CEO Jon Karafin said at the time.
Karaffin told Variety last week that the company had been busy improving its technology in recent months. “Some of the most significant updates include improved brightness and detail, increased depth of the projected objects, lots of new video examples, as well as real-time and interactive holographic demonstrations,” he said.
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“Light Field Lab’s holographic display technologies enable entirely new business opportunities across consumer and enterprise markets,” said Bosch Venture Capital managing director Ingo Ramesohl. “Light Field Lab has the leadership and technical expertise to bring this vision of the holographic future to life.”
Light Field Lab wants now wants to turn its prototype display into a real product. The company aims to produce modular display units, which can then be combined to larger screen sizes that could find their into large entertainment venues. “Our target is to be competitive with the premium LED video wall market once we’re in volume production,” Karafin told Variety last year.
Ultimately, the company plans to bring its technology to the consumer marketplace as well, and build TV screens capable of playing 3D holographic content. “Light Field Lab’s holographic displays are the most exciting new technology we have seen in the entertainment space to date,” said Liberty Global Ventures vice president Ankur Prakash. “We are thrilled to meaningfully participate in their Series A and are well positioned to help them align with the industry’s top content creators and accelerate holographic media distribution on next-generation networks.”
The Series A funding round was joined by Samsung Ventures, Verizon Ventures, Comcast, Liberty Global Ventures, NTT Docomo Ventures, Inc., HELLA Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group, R7 Partners, and Acme Capital. Altogether, Light Field Lab has now raised some $35 million in funding.