Augmented reality (AR) wearables innovator Mojo Vision officially cancelled its immersive contact lens this Wednesday.
The firm is stopping research and development (R&D) into its AR contact lens prototype due to a lack of capital.
Mojo Vision CEO Drew Parkins noted how the current economic climate contributed to his firm’s device cancellation.
He also added:
The slumping global economy, extremely tight capital markets, and the yet-to-be proven market potential for advanced AR products have all contributed to a situation where Mojo Vision has been unable to find additional private funding to continue its development of Mojo Lens.”
Due to the product cancellation, Mojo Vision is removing roughly 75 percent of its staff.
The layoffs come as Mojo Vison refocuses its direction towards MicroLED production for smart and immersive wearables.
Perkins added:
We believe Micro-LED will disrupt the entire $160B display industry and our unique technology puts us at the forefront of this disruption.
More on Mojo Lens
As the firm moves into the lucrative display technology market, which includes technology competitors to MicroLED hardware such as LCD and OLED components, Mojo Lens is ready to innovate in this field following successful R&D into microdisplays.
Mojo Vision first debuted its vision in 2017, and in the subsequent years, the firm painted a future of ultra-small form-factor AR displays.
The firm foresaw many use cases for its prototype device during development, including assisting the visually impaired and athletes.
The prototype Mojo Lens device would have contained a hi-res microLED display, fast wireless data, battery power, eye-tracking, and eye-controlled user experience (UX).
Unfortunately, due to its device cancellation, Mojo Vision can no longer meet its roadmap, which forecasted immersive prescription cosmetics by the decade’s end.
Despite its more recent finical hurdles, Mojo Vision gained significant capital across its tenure. The firm gained from major partners, including Khosla Ventures, Gradient Ventures, Motorola Solutions, and NEA.
In September 2020, Mojo Vision and Adidas representatives spoke on immersive navigation for outdoor sports.
During an IGS 2022 Europe conversation, Mojo Vision announced a partnership with Adidas to discover the best immersive opportunities for professional athletes and consumers.
Drew Perkins even trialled the firm’s AR contact lens in July last year.
Perkins became the first person to operate an immersive contact lens. Despite “seeing the future” in a promising showcase event, the firm’s journey to create an invisible computing device appears to have concluded.
