Morphotonics raises €40M to scale nanoimprint optics beyond AR glasses

The round was backed by 3M Ventures, Innovation Industries, BOM and Invest-NL. The European Innovation Council Fund, Dutch family office Ernij Next and the European Investment Bank also participated.

Morphotonics works in nanoimprint lithography, or NIL, a different corner of the lithography field from the silicon wafer etching done by fellow Dutch company ASML. Morphotonics said it has benefited from ASML's supply chain and uses many of the same vendors.

The NIL process involves creating a "stamp" and applying it to photosensitive materials to produce various kinds of displays, ranging from augmented reality glasses to privacy screens for cars. It is used to make waveguide technology for smart glasses, including the Meta Ray-Ban Display, Even Reality and Magic Leap. Waveguides are thin pieces of glass or plastic that deflect light along a specific path so an image appears in front of the wearer's eyes.

Morphotonics has spent 12 years developing the technology, largely under the radar. It now plans to scale up production as demand for smart glasses and other optics rises, and to push into a new market: optical components for data centers.