CREAL, a Swiss pioneer in light field display technology, has closed an $8.9 million equity funding round led by ZEISS, with participation from UBS private investor network members and existing investors. This investment accelerates CREAL’s mission to revolutionize augmented reality (AR) and vision care through its innovative display technology, delivering natural and comfortable visual experiences.
CREAL raises $8.9M, led by ZEISS, for light field display innovation.
Funds to enhance ZEISS’s digital vision care platform with CREAL technology.
Investment supports miniaturization of AR light field modules for glasses.
Technology ensures natural, healthy visual experiences in AR and vision care.
CREAL has raised over $32M, backed by Swisscom Ventures, Verve, and others.
Partnership aims to modernize vision diagnostics and AR interfaces.
CREAL’s $8.9 million funding round, led by ZEISS, strengthens its partnership to develop a digitized vision care platform. By integrating CREAL’s light field display technology, ZEISS aims to modernize diagnostic and treatment devices, enabling precise digital eye exams and virtual lens simulations. This collaboration seeks to replace century-old vision test methods with faster, cost-effective, and user-friendly solutions, enhancing experiences for both patients and eye-care professionals.
The investment also fuels CREAL’s efforts to miniaturize its AR light field module, paving the way for lightweight, fashionable AR glasses suitable for enterprise and consumer markets. Unlike traditional AR displays, CREAL’s technology projects images with true-to-life depth, supporting the eye’s natural focusing mechanism to reduce strain and improve comfort. This positions CREAL as a leader in creating immersive, vision-healthy AR experiences.
“As AI reshapes how we work and create, AR is poised to become the killer interface to this new era,” says Tomas Sluka, CEO and Co-Founder of CREAL. “But if we’re going to wear AR glasses all day, they must imperatively be healthy, comfortable, and natural to use. That’s why we’re focused on delivering AR glasses that uniquely project digital imagery with real-world depth — fully supporting the natural focusing mechanism of the human eye. This is one of the key foundations for immersive spatial computing.” This vision aligns with CREAL’s goal to redefine AR and vision care through innovative display solutions.
With over $32 million raised to date, backed by investors like Swisscom Ventures, Verve Ventures, DAA Capital Partners, and now ZEISS, CREAL is well-positioned to drive advancements in AR and vision care. The partnership with ZEISS, a global leader in optics, enhances CREAL’s ability to deliver scalable solutions that address both healthcare and immersive technology needs, promising significant improvements in diagnostic accuracy and user-friendly AR interfaces.
CREAL’s $8.9 million funding round marks a pivotal step in transforming vision care and AR through its patented light field display technology. By partnering with ZEISS and leveraging this investment, CREAL is set to deliver innovative, user-centric solutions that enhance digital vision experiences and modernize eye care diagnostics, positioning it as a leader in both industries.
CREAL is a display technology startup based in Switzerland, with a technical team drawn from cutting-edge projects at Intel, Magic Leap, EPFL and CERN. CREAL has developed a patented light field micro-display technology stack, uniquely projecting images with true-to-life depth. While serving vision care applications, CREAL naturally expands its mission toward AR hardware. With the same business model and partners among the market leaders in the vision care/eyewear industry, CREAL ultimately enables a much-needed natural and healthy visual experience of digital content.
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