Myrias Optics – a company built on research developed by the Watkins Group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst – recently announced that it has secured a $3 million seed investment led by Asia Optical Inc. Myrias, an emerging developer of all-inorganic printed meta-optics, will use the funding to meet growing customer demand and interest in the company’s structure, materials and process technology platform. This funding round also includes UMass Amherst, Tenon Ventures, and HOSS Investment participation.
Myrias Optics enables the next generation of meta-optics for augmented reality/virtual reality, consumer electronics, machine vision, advanced robotics, automotive light detection and ranging, defense, and aerospace. The company – which was founded by UMass faculty member James Watkins – plans to manufacture optics in Western Massachusetts and hire a substantial workforce. And Myrias enables next-gen meta-optics for AR/VR, consumer electronics, advanced robotics, defense, aerospace, etc.
The development and adoption of the optical technologies developed by the Watkins Group is poised to accelerate substantially in Massachusetts thanks to a $5 million award from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. And the grant will enable UMass Amherst to establish an open-access Advanced Optics Fabrication and Characterization Facility, a unique resource available to industry partners and researchers across the state.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are very excited to already have multiple Tier 1 customers engaging in AR/VR and consumer electronics applications where Myrias IP and expertise provide unrivaled cost, performance and lifetime advantages over existing etched or printed polymer-based processes. We are particularly excited to work with Asia Optical to develop and deploy a new class of optics that enables products that are compact, lighter and easier to assemble at significantly lower costs.”
— Myrias CEO Patrick Tan
