Varjo, the Finland-based maker of high-end XR headsets, introduced it’s secured a €5 million (~$5.8 million) minority funding from THEON, the Greece-based producer of army imaging methods.
Structured as a convertible mortgage, the €5 million funding additionally contains the choice to safe an extra €5 million underneath the identical phrases, the businesses say in a joint press launch. Moreover, because of the strategic partnership, Varjo and Theon have agreed to collaborate intently on a number of product and enterprise initiatives.
Based in 1997, Theon develops and manufactures customizable evening imaginative and prescient, thermal imaging methods and Electro-Optical ISR methods for army and safety purposes in Europe.
Varjo says the funding will strengthen the corporate’s capabilities to ship “military-grade realism by next-generation immersive applied sciences.”
“We’re proud to welcome THEON as a strategic investor in Varjo,” mentioned Timo Toikkanen, CEO of Varjo. “Since our inception, now we have been creating probably the most superior VR/XR army methods globally. THEON’s in depth expertise and management within the protection sector make them a super companion as we broaden our influence in mission-critical coaching and simulation, enabling unprecedented ranges of realism, readiness, and operational effectiveness.”
Theon CEO Christian Hadjiminas says the funding “deepens our attain into the European innovation ecosystem and offers THEON entry to distinctive capabilities in visible show methods and projecting know-how. Collectively, we’re pushing the frontier of digital protection know-how.”
Theon’s funding in Varjo comes as a part of its broader ‘THEON NEXT’ initiative, which is taking the corporate past imaging, as Theon seeks to broaden into digital and AR-driven soldier methods.
By way of Theon Subsequent, the corporate has additionally invested $15 million in US/UK-based XR show producer Kopin, signed a multi-year provide settlement with US-based XR show producer eMagin, and introduced a strategic partnership with ALEREON, the US-based creator of ultra-wide-band wi-fi know-how.
This follows information final month that Varjo is pulling assist for its older XR headsets beginning subsequent yr, and placing its foremost concentrate on its XR-4 Sequence headsets, successfully marking a return to enterprise-first choices following the discharge of its first and solely consumer-focused headset, Varjo Aero.
Launched in late 2023, the XR-4 Sequence contains the usual XR‑4 ($5,990), XR‑4 Focal Version ($9,990), and its military-compliant XR‑4 Safe Version, which is available in three variants (~$18,00 – $32,000).
