Zeiss Bet Big on Morrow
The ZEISS Ventures portfolio is growing with the investment in Morrow, a high-tech start-up from Belgium, developing autofocal glasses that allow switching between near vision and distance vision at the touch of a button.
Morrow, founded in 2016, is specialized in developing and manufacturing liquid crystal technology solutions for application in lenses to enable electrified multifocal glasses that switch focal length between distance and near. The innovative liquid crystal technology is embedded between two ultra-precise, thin-cut optical lenses and can be activated by applying a small dose of electrical power, which in turn instructs the liquid crystal to refract light in a predetermined manner. In 2021, Morrow launched its first product in the Belgian market that allows the wearer to switch between near vision and distance vision at the touch of a button.
“While AR/VR devices are on everyone’s mind today the general electrification and functionalization of glasses and their lenses is an area many times overlooked. Solutions such as the one developed by Morrow are key in enabling this”, says Gerrit Schulte Head of ZEISS Ventures. The investment is led by ZEISS Ventures together with New Science Ventures (NSV) and joined by all currently invested investors such as imec.xpand, PMV, Tokai and Qbic.
“We are extremely glad that ZEISS Ventures subscribes to our vision: to improve yours, by functionalizing eyeglasses. This unique partnership helps us to further roll out our product roadmap, and together with current shareholders, build out a common platform for electronic glasses.” explains Dr. Paul Marchal Founder and CEO of Morrow.
