![]() | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Founder | Meron Gribetz, CEO |
Defunct | January 2019 |
Fate | Insolvency |
Successor | Meta View (now Campfire) |
Key people | John Werner |
Products | Augmented reality products |
Website |
metavision |
Meta was a company that designed augmented reality products. The company was founded by Meron Gribetz in 2012, [1] [2] based on the "Extramissive spatial imaging digital eye glass" technology invented by Gribetz and Mann [3] originally filed with the US Patent and Trademark office Jan 3, 2013. [4]
The company furloughed two-thirds of its approximately 100 employees in September 2018. [5] In 2019, the company declared itself insolvent after its primary lender foreclosed and sold all of the company's assets. [6]
The company's products included the Meta 1 and Meta 2 Developer Kits, headsets with which users could view and manipulate computer-generated images using optical see-through displays. [7]
Meta was founded by Meron Gribetz while he was a student at Columbia University. [8] [2] In 2013, Meta launched a crowd-funded Kickstarter campaign that raised $194,444. [9] Also in 2013, Meta was accepted into the Y Combinator's seed accelerator program. [10] [11] Steve Mann became the company's chief scientist and Steven Feiner became an adviser. [12] [13]
In 2014, founder Gribetz was awarded the "30 Under 30 award" in the technology category by Forbes [14] [15] and Meta won best heads-up display award for the Meta Pro at the Consumer Electronics Show. [16] [17] Meta presented the Meta 1 Developer Kit with a live medical demo at 2014's TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. [18]
In September 2014, Meta began to ship its Meta 1 Developer Kit. [19] [20]
In 2015, Meta received $23 million in Series-A funding from Horizons Ventures, Tim Draper, BOE Optoelectronics, Garry Tan and Alexis Ohanian of Y Combinator, Danhua Capital, Commodore Partners, and Vegas Tech Fund. [21] [22]
In 2016, Meta unveiled its second-generation product at a TED conference. [23] [24] [25] The company received another $50M in venture-capital funds from Lenovo, Tencent, Banyan Capital, Comcast Ventures, and GQY. [26]
In March 2016, it announced the launch of the Meta 2 at the $949 to compete with the Microsoft HoloLens, which retailed for $3000. However, the Meta 2 would be a tethered and would require an external PC whereas the Hololens was a standalone product. [27]
In 2018, Meta furloughed two-thirds of its one hundred employees after it failed to secure another round of venture capital funding. [5] In January 2019, Meta declared itself insolvent after its primary lender foreclosed and sold all the company's assets. [6]
In May 2019, a company called Meta View announced it had acquired the intellectual property assets of Meta, [28] with Jay Wright, who was previously president and general manager of Qualcomm's augmented reality division, Vuforia, [29] chosen as CEO. [28] In July 2021, the company announced a new name, Campfire, and its plans to release a 3D collaboration system for design and engineering later that year. [30]
![]() | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Founded | 2012 |
Founder | Meron Gribetz, CEO |
Defunct | January 2019 |
Fate | Insolvency |
Successor | Meta View (now Campfire) |
Key people | John Werner |
Products | Augmented reality products |
Website |
metavision |
Meta was a company that designed augmented reality products. The company was founded by Meron Gribetz in 2012, [1] [2] based on the "Extramissive spatial imaging digital eye glass" technology invented by Gribetz and Mann [3] originally filed with the US Patent and Trademark office Jan 3, 2013. [4]
The company furloughed two-thirds of its approximately 100 employees in September 2018. [5] In 2019, the company declared itself insolvent after its primary lender foreclosed and sold all of the company's assets. [6]
The company's products included the Meta 1 and Meta 2 Developer Kits, headsets with which users could view and manipulate computer-generated images using optical see-through displays. [7]
Meta was founded by Meron Gribetz while he was a student at Columbia University. [8] [2] In 2013, Meta launched a crowd-funded Kickstarter campaign that raised $194,444. [9] Also in 2013, Meta was accepted into the Y Combinator's seed accelerator program. [10] [11] Steve Mann became the company's chief scientist and Steven Feiner became an adviser. [12] [13]
In 2014, founder Gribetz was awarded the "30 Under 30 award" in the technology category by Forbes [14] [15] and Meta won best heads-up display award for the Meta Pro at the Consumer Electronics Show. [16] [17] Meta presented the Meta 1 Developer Kit with a live medical demo at 2014's TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. [18]
In September 2014, Meta began to ship its Meta 1 Developer Kit. [19] [20]
In 2015, Meta received $23 million in Series-A funding from Horizons Ventures, Tim Draper, BOE Optoelectronics, Garry Tan and Alexis Ohanian of Y Combinator, Danhua Capital, Commodore Partners, and Vegas Tech Fund. [21] [22]
In 2016, Meta unveiled its second-generation product at a TED conference. [23] [24] [25] The company received another $50M in venture-capital funds from Lenovo, Tencent, Banyan Capital, Comcast Ventures, and GQY. [26]
In March 2016, it announced the launch of the Meta 2 at the $949 to compete with the Microsoft HoloLens, which retailed for $3000. However, the Meta 2 would be a tethered and would require an external PC whereas the Hololens was a standalone product. [27]
In 2018, Meta furloughed two-thirds of its one hundred employees after it failed to secure another round of venture capital funding. [5] In January 2019, Meta declared itself insolvent after its primary lender foreclosed and sold all the company's assets. [6]
In May 2019, a company called Meta View announced it had acquired the intellectual property assets of Meta, [28] with Jay Wright, who was previously president and general manager of Qualcomm's augmented reality division, Vuforia, [29] chosen as CEO. [28] In July 2021, the company announced a new name, Campfire, and its plans to release a 3D collaboration system for design and engineering later that year. [30]