The Economist’s latest Technology Quarterly published in the past week focuses on the promise of virtual reality as “computer-generated realities are becoming ubiquitous”.
But while author Neal Stephenson’s metaverse “is coming,” according to the Economist – and has been since his book, Snow Crash, was published in 1992 – the steps to getting there and many other points on the tech roadmap probably involve practical uses, such as games.
Another of which involves helping people drive and navigate and so effectively a better satellite-navigation system. This will find many takers who have struggled to follow a disembodied voice or squint at directions on a screen of varying size.
Hence the interest in Envisics, a UK-based developer of holographic technologies for augmented reality head-up displays (AR HUDs), which has raised about $50m in its series B round from a consortium including automotive-focused companies Hyundai Mobis, General Motors, SAIC Motors and Van Tuyl Companies and family office Tarsadia Investments.
The strategic investors will help the company develop its AR HUD products. These investors include Matt Tsien, executive vice-president and chief technology officer at General Motors and president of GM Ventures, the US-based car maker’s corporate venturing unit, in a new deal since taking over from Jon Lauckner in the summer.
Lauckner used to say given GM’s heft it never bought anything in small quantities and if you add in China’s largest car maker in SAIC and a car parts supplier in Hyundai Mobis then the potential to sell millions of Jamieson Christmas, founder and CEO at Envisics’, products becomes probable rather than possible.
