Ixana raises $3M in seed funding as it aims to make all-day wearable AR possible

In Augmented Reality News 

December 1, 2022 – Ixana, a wearable hardware company developing high-speed human-computer interfaces, has this week announced that it has closed USD $3 million in seed funding, with the company receiving backing from Uncorrelated Ventures, Samsung Next, Evonexus, Paradigm Shift and Hack VC.

Ixana will preview its first chip-based reference hardware at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2023. The company states that its proprietary chip gives it a unique edge to develop wire-free augmented reality (AR) experiences that offer all-day battery life with real-time AI information relevant to what the wearer is looking at.

Ixana noted that over recent years, billions of dollars have been invested globally by companies to build AR headsets that are suitable for everyday use, but also user-friendly and powerful at the same time. However, technical challenges such as thermal budget and battery drain have prevented the release of an all-day productivity companion capable of real-time AI with an always-on camera, according to the company.

“Ixana is challenging these wearable hardware limitations with a breakthrough silicon chip that makes high-speed human-computer interfaces such as all-day wearable AR possible,” said Shreyas Sen, Ixana’s Chief Technology Officer and a Chair Associate Professor at Purdue University. “Leveraging wire-free distributed computing, our low-power AR headset lasts a full day on a single charge, even with an always-on front-facing camera that can detect what you are seeing, analyze it, and provide feedback in real-time.”

Ixana states that its team comprises 15+ alums of Intel, Qualcomm, Silicon Labs, Texas Instruments, and others. The company’s team is currently testing the developer/evaluation hardware that it is expecting to ship in early 2023.

“Having seen the demo of an early prototype, I see the intriguing potential for the technology to play a key role in the future evolution of wearables,” said Rory Moore, co-founder of Evonexus. “With a deep background in the semiconductor sector including launching the world’s first Bluetooth company, I am able to grasp the need for more innovative and critical lower-power approaches. As a co-founder of Peregrine Semiconductor, a pioneer in Silicon-on-Insulator for RF frontend use cases that are now found in flagship smartphones, I believe this venture will have an impact with broad applications.”

Ixana will be exhibiting at booth #61305 at CES next month to allow attendees to experience the company’s AR headset technology, which Ixana states “holds the promise of catalyzing the looming wearable revolution.”

To join the evaluation kit waitlist or to find out more about Ixana and its wearable AR hardware solutions, please visit the company’s website.

Image credit: Ixana

About the author

Sam Sprigg

Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.