Intel to spin off Augmented Reality Glasses company in near future

Bloomberg reports that Intel is set to spin out a new smart glasses company with plans to bring a laser-projection-based headset wearable to the market in the near future.

Code-named Superlight, the glasses would project the information on the users retina directly using lasers and will be manufactured by Quanta.

The new company may be called Vaunt and is expected to be worth around $350 million, with Intel retaining a minority stake. Intel is looking for partners to bring expertise in design and distribution, rather than simply financing.

Intel has been working on Augmented Reality glasses for some time and in 2015 absorbed and shuttered Recon, who was also working on an augmented reality headset, the Recon Jet, which can be seen above. Some employees from Recon are expected to form part of the new company.

Intel most recently presented Project Alloy, a Mixed Reality headset based on Windows 10, but this reference design was in the end abandoned.  Unlike self-contained glasses, Superlight is likely to connect via Bluetooth to your smartphone and draw processing power and data connectivity from there.

The headset is expected to hit the market as soon as this year.

Via Bloomberg.com