WayRay, a leader of holographic AR displays for cars, announced new investment from Porsche, Hyundai Motor, Alibaba Group, China Merchants Capital, JVCKENWOOD and Consortium of Sovereign Wealth Funds (among them Russia-Japan Investment Fund, formed by JBIC and RDIF; Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Bahrein). The newly raised funds will bolster the company’s focus on R&D, industrialization and team expansion to become a supplier of holographic AR solutions for car manufacturers.

Porsche first joined forces with WayRay for a pilot project at Startup Autobahn, Europe’s biggest platform for automotive innovation. Now the premium German car manufacturer is leading investment Round C, along with China Merchants Capital, one of the largest Chinese investment companies. The collaboration between WayRay and Porsche will now be strategically developed to actively drive forward the future-oriented technology and its use cases in the automotive industry.

The WayRay team has unique expertise with a solid background in space engineering, hardware and software development. Their innovative ideas and products have great potential. We are convinced that on this basis we’ll be able to offer our clients customized Porsche solutions. That is why we have made this strategic investment decision.

—Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche

Since its inception in 2012, the Swiss startup has raised more than $100M. By the end of 2019, the company aims to have a $1-billion valuation.

In its transition from startup to scaleup, WayRay plans to use the raised funds to establish an affiliate with a pilot production line in Germany. The investments will also help to diversify WayRay’s portfolio of applications in different sectors—from AR in transportation to AR smart glass in the smart home business and construction industry.

WayRay’s holographic AR solutions create a true augmented reality experience, where virtual objects are seamlessly integrated into the world around the car. Compared to the conventional HUDs (head-up displays) available on the market, WayRay’s technology features a smaller projection system that can be installed in almost any car model.

WayRay has remarkable expertise in both hardware and software development for holographic AR display systems. The Hyundai–WayRay collaboration will help us establish a brand new eco-system that harnesses AR technology to enhance not only navigation systems but establish an AR platform for smart cities and smart buildings, which are Hyundai Motor Group’s new business interests, in the long term, providing innovative customer experiences to our drivers.

—Dr. Youngcho Chi, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive Vice President of Hyundai Motor Group

Its exceedingly wide field of view allows for displaying more virtual objects at a comfortable distance for drivers’ eyes. There are currently no other technologies capable of matching those parameters, the company says. Another key competitive advantage of WayRay’s solutions is the customizability for both drivers and passengers, conventional vehicles and self-driving cars, consumers (aftermarket) and businesses (OEMs).