News: Optoelectronics
7 January 2026
Vitrealab closes $11m Series A financing round
Vitrealab GmbH of Vienna, Austria, a developer of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for laser–LCoS-based augmented reality (AR) light engines, has closed a significantly oversubscribed $11m Series A financing round, led by LIFTT Italian Venture Capital and LIFTT EuroInvest with participation from Constructor Capital, aws Gründungsfonds, Gateway Ventures, PhotonVentures, xista Science Ventures, Moveon Technologies, and Hermann Hauser Investment.
Investor interest was driven by an industry-wide inflection in augmented reality and Vitrealab’s technology’s fit with the performance, efficiency and form-factor demands of next-generation AR devices.
The funding will be used to accelerate the development and industrialization of Vitrealab’s Quantum Light Chip (QLC). Vitrealab plans to strengthen collaborations with customers and partners, demonstrate next-generation light-engine architectures, and continue building the technical foundation required to bring AR displays into everyday use.
Vitrealab’s core technology leverages photonic integrated circuits to precisely guide and shape coherent laser light for laser–LCoS light engines. The approach is said to significantly reduce system complexity, optical losses, and size, while preserving polarization and beam quality. This enables higher brightness, wider fields of view, and lower power consumption in form factors suitable for lightweight AR smart glasses.
“This funding allows us to move from advanced prototypes to industrial-grade solutions, while continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible with photonic integrated circuits in display applications,” says chief technology officer Dr Jonas Zeuner.
The investor group brings together deep expertise in photonics, semiconductors, hardware commercialization and photonics mass manufacturing. Vitrealab reckons that their support will help it to strengthen its position as a key technology supplier within the AR ecosystem and accelerate partnerships across the optical value chain.
“Augmented reality has reached a point where the market is ready but the hardware is not, and in particular the display,” notes Marco Cravetto, business analyst at LIFTT. “Vitrealab addresses this challenge at its core with a proprietary laser-based technology that combines performance, industrial scalability and a strong European IP foundation.”
