Dutch nanoimprint lithography company Morphotonics has completed a €40 million funding round to expand production capacity for display devices and extend its business into optical components for data centers. As shipments of smart glasses increase, demand for related display manufacturing equipment is also rising.
Funding used to expand production
This round of investment includes 3M Ventures, Innovation Industries, BOM, and Invest-NL, as well as the European Innovation Council Fund, the Dutch family office Ernij Next, and the European Investment Bank.
Morphotonics specializes in the development of nanoimprint lithography technology. This process involves creating a template and stamping it onto photosensitive material to manufacture various display and optical components, including AR glasses display modules and automotive privacy screens.
Demand for smart glasses is increasing
The company's primary current application is waveguides for smart glasses. Waveguides, typically made of glass or plastic, guide and deflect light along specific paths to display images in front of the wearer's eyes.
The report noted that this technology is already available for smart glasses-related products. As the market expands, display manufacturers are seeing increased demand for equipment capable of scaling waveguide production. Chinese officials stated this week that smart glasses sales doubled year-over-year in the first eight months of this year. IDC previously projected that by 2030, shipments of smart glasses with display functionality will reach 12.2 million units.
Morphotonics stated that its next-generation devices are currently under construction, with an annual production capacity exceeding 6 million waveguides, with deliveries expected to begin in early next year.
Expand data center optics
In addition to its core business, the company is also advancing co-packaged optics technology with the goal of entering the data center market. This technology is typically used in systems equipped with photonic integrated circuits to transmit data between servers and network devices using light instead of electricity.
The company stated that the relevant equipment has not yet been officially shipped, but customers have completed technical validation. Morphotonics currently sells hardware devices and licenses its manufacturing processes to enhance customers' mass production capabilities.
According to company disclosures, approximately 90% of current revenue comes from hardware sales, with 10 to 15 systems deployed globally. The company expects the number of deployments to increase to 50 over the next two to three years, leading to a higher proportion of service revenue.