Vancouver startup RealWear raises $80 million for augmented reality hardhat
A quartet of industrial companies, led by a big Massachusetts-based equipment company called Teradyne, announced Monday they are putting $80 million in to a Vancouver startup that makes augmented reality headsets built into hardhats.
RealWear has now raised $100 million altogether and its $1,500 devices are used by a wide variety of industrial companies, including BMW, Colgate, Shell and Exxon.
Monday’s investment is among the biggest investments in a Silicon Forest startup in many years and instantly makes the three-year-old company among the region’s best-funded young companies.
RealWear had eight local employees when it moved to Vancouver but now employs 110, including 52 in Vancouver. Lowery said he plans to hire 100 more by the end of next year.
“It may make a lot of sense for us to locate a software group down in Portland,” he said. “Software folks are very lifestyle oriented.”
See the full story here: https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2019/07/vancouver-startup-realwear-raises-80-million-for-augmented-reality-hardhat.html