CREAL

CREAL
Information
Type	Startup, Private
Industry	Display technology, AR/VR/MR, Optics, Electronics, Vision care
Founded	Template:Start date
Founder	Tomas Sluka, Alexander Kvasov, Tomas Kubes
Headquarters	Chemin de la Dent d'Oche 1A, Ecublens, Lausanne, Switzerland
Notable Personnel	Tomas Sluka (CEO & Co-Founder), Alexander Kvasov (CTO & Co-Founder), Tomas Kubes (Chief R&D Officer & Co-Founder)
Products	Light-field micro-display technology & modules, "Clarity" light-field display prototype, AR Light‑Field Evaluation Kit, VR Light‑Field Prototypes, Technology licenses
Website	Template:URL

CREAL SA is a Swiss display technology startup company headquartered in Ecublens, near Lausanne. [10, 3] Incorporated on November 10, 2017, the company specializes in developing light-field micro-display technologies and near-eye display engines primarily aimed at Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) devices, as well as the vision care industry. [10, 1, 3, 5, 11, 21, 34] CREAL's core technological focus is to address the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC), a common issue in conventional HMDs that can cause eye strain, fatigue, and nausea. [5, 6, 7, 11, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 34] By projecting images with true depth cues that mimic how light behaves in the real world, CREAL's displays aim to allow users' eyes to focus naturally at varying distances, enabling a more comfortable and realistic visual experience. [3, 4, 7, 8, 21, 22, 34]

History

CREAL SA was incorporated on November 10, 2017, co-founded by Dr. Tomas Sluka, Alexander Kvasov, and Tomas Kubes. [10, 5, 15, 36] Sluka, who serves as CEO, was previously a researcher at EPFL and CERN. [5] The founders left research posts at CERN and EPFL to commercialise light‑field micro‑displays. [36] The company's creation was partly driven by Sluka's personal negative experiences with the visual discomfort caused by early VR headsets and the realization that the vergence-accommodation conflict was a fundamental unsolved problem hindering the adoption of extended reality technologies. [5, 27] He began exploring solutions and developed a promising light-field projector concept, which formed the basis for CREAL. [5]

The company initially operated within the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, a major Swiss technology hub. [6, 11, 36] CREAL has since established its headquarters in Ecublens. [10, 14] The technical team comprises experts with backgrounds from prominent research institutions and technology companies, including CERN, EPFL, Intel, and Magic Leap. [3, 5, 6, 11, 18, 32] The company employed around 20 people by late 2021 and approximately 30 employees (25 full-time equivalents) by late 2023. [6, 20]

Key Milestones

• 2017 (November 10): CREAL SA incorporated at the EPFL Innovation Park. [10, 36]
• 2018: Seed Round funding of CHF 0.85 million secured. [18] Early bench‑top demonstrators exhibited at SIGGRAPH. [37]
• 2019: Series A funding of CHF 4.3 million raised. [18] Received a €2.5 million (approx. CHF 2.5 million) grant from the European Union's Horizon 2020 EIC Accelerator program. [18, 25] Won the Swisscom Start‑up Challenge and Venture Kick awards. [37]
• 2020 (November): Closed a CHF 6.5 million Series A+ round led by Swisscom Ventures and joined by existing investors Verve Ventures, DAA Capital Partners, and Ariel Luedi. [13, 18, 22, 38]
• 2021: Revealed first head‑mounted AR and VR prototypes featuring continuous focus depth. [35] Won the Gold prize at the Swiss Technology Award (Startup category). [43]
• 2022: Ranked #5 in the TOP 100 Swiss Startups. [43]
• 2023: Announced commercial availability of its AR Light‑Field Evaluation Kit for early 2024. [11, 40] Total funding reported to have surpassed US $18 million (other sources indicate $22 million). Finalist for the Auggie Awards for Best Display Hardware. [43]
• 2024 (September): Announced a strategic licensing agreement with Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH (ZEISS). [24, 32, 33, 39]
• 2024 (October): Closed a Series B Prime funding round of undisclosed amount, led by ZEISS. [26, 25, 39]
• 2025 (January): Unveiled the "Clarity" light-field display prototype ready for OEM integration. [3, 8]
• 2025 (March): Reported achieving first light from a Photonic Integrated Chip (PIC). [2]

Technology

CREAL's core innovation lies in its light-field display technology, designed to overcome the limitations of traditional AR/VR displays. [3, 4, 8, 34] Conventional displays typically present stereoscopic images on flat screens set at a fixed focal distance. [3, 7, 13, 18, 22] This creates a mismatch between vergence (the angle of the eyes converging on an object) and accommodation (the eye lens focusing at a specific distance), known as the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC). [6, 7, 20, 34] This conflict is a primary cause of visual discomfort, eye strain, and nausea during prolonged use of AR/VR devices. [6, 7, 11, 13, 18, 21, 34]

CREAL's light-field approach aims to recreate the way light rays naturally emanate from objects in the real world. [3, 8, 21] By projecting digital content with genuinely three-dimensional, hologram-like properties and correct depth cues, the technology allows each eye to naturally adjust its focus for objects at different virtual distances, just as it would in reality. [3, 4, 8, 13, 18, 21, 22, 34] This is intended to eliminate the VAC, providing a visually comfortable, healthy, and more immersive experience, particularly for interactions within personal space where depth perception is critical. [3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 34]

Technical Implementation and Key Features

CREAL’s display projects a plenoptic light field, potentially using a two‑dimensional array of micro‑LED emitters and diffractive waveguides or holographic optical elements. [35, 41] The architecture supports both vergence and accommodation cues. [34, 41] Key features include:

• **Continuous Depth:** Enables natural focus from very close distances (near eye) to optical infinity without requiring varifocal actuators. [3, 20, 41]
• **VAC Elimination:** Directly addresses the root cause of visual discomfort in many HMDs. [6, 7, 11, 13, 18, 21, 34]
• **High Resolution & Contrast:** Aims for high angular resolution (e.g., a foveated variant targets 40 pixels per degree (PPD) in the core) and high contrast (over 1,000:1 reported for Clarity prototype). [8]
• **Prescription Compatibility:** Integrates with conventional prescription lenses using methods like a transparent holographic film, allowing corrected vision for both real and virtual elements. [3, 4, 7, 8, 20, 41] Can potentially simulate prescription correction digitally. [8]
• **High Transparency:** Designed for see-through AR applications, maintaining clear real-world vision and enabling natural eye contact. [3, 4, 7]
• **Foveated Rendering:** A variant combines a high-resolution light-field core (e.g., 30° FOV) with a lower-resolution peripheral display (extending total FOV to ~100° in VR prototypes) to optimize performance and power. [35, 41, 44]
• **High Refresh Rate:** Foveated light-field region capable of 240 Hz refresh rates. [41]
• **Miniaturization & Efficiency:** Ongoing development towards compact, lightweight modules (<5 mm thickness goal for engine) suitable for standard eyeglass form factors. [5, 7, 41] Achieved first light from a Photonic Integrated Chip (PIC) in March 2025. [2] Aims for low power consumption (target < 0.5 W for foveated system). [41]
• **OpenXR Compatibility:** Supports the OpenXR standard for broader application development. [3, 7, 12]

Clarity Prototype

In January 2025, CREAL announced its "Clarity" light-field display prototype was ready for integration by OEMs. [3, 8] This iteration represents a significant reduction in size compared to earlier prototypes, making it compact enough to potentially fit into standard eyeglass designs. [7, 8] The Clarity display was demonstrated at the SPIE AR | VR | MR conference in early 2025. [3, 7] It reportedly renders over 1,000 depth plane images using pinhole-like optics to project the light field. [8]

Products and Business Model

CREAL operates primarily as a technology developer and licensor, not planning to manufacture and sell its own branded end-user AR/VR devices. [20] Its business model focuses on providing its patented light-field micro-display technology stack to OEMs, ODMs, and companies in the consumer electronics, Big Tech, and vision care sectors. [3, 8, 10, 11, 20]

Product offerings include: [10, 40, 35]

• Light-field micro-display modules
• AR Light-Field Evaluation Kit: Shipped to select OEMs starting late 2023/early 2024, including a monocular projector, driver board, and Unity SDK. [40, 11]
• VR Light-Field Prototypes: Including a V2 dual-panel foveated headset demonstrated in 2021. [35, 41]
• Vision-care Module: A specialized variant licensed to ZEISS. [39]
• Technology licenses and integration solutions. [10]

As of late 2023, CREAL stated that several ODMs were evaluating its technology, with integrated products anticipated from 2024 onwards. [11] The estimated hardware component cost was projected to be under $100 per unit at scale. [20]

Partnerships and Collaborations

• ZEISS: In September 2024, CREAL signed a significant strategic licensing agreement with Carl Zeiss Vision International GmbH. [24, 32, 33, 39] ZEISS intends to integrate CREAL's technology into a new digital vision care platform for modernized eye exams, including digital diagnosis and virtual lens simulation. [32, 39] ZEISS subsequently led CREAL's Series B Prime funding round. [26, 25, 39]
• IMVERSE: Mentioned collaboration focused on holographic collaboration in AR. [12]
• Academic/Research: R&D collaborations with EPFL’s Centre for Neuroprosthetics and involvement in the EU-funded Horizon Europe XR4Human project. [42]

Funding and Investment

CREAL has raised significant capital through several funding rounds:

• Seed Round (2018): CHF 0.85 million. [18]
• Series A (2019): CHF 4.3 million. [18]
• EIC Grant (2019): €2.5 million (approx. CHF 2.5 million) from the Horizon 2020 program. [18, 25]
• Series A+ (Nov 2020): CHF 6.5 million (~$7.2 million), led by Swisscom Ventures, joined by Verve Ventures, DAA Capital Partners, and Ariel Luedi. [13, 18, 22, 38]
• Series B Prime (Oct 2024): Undisclosed amount, led by ZEISS. [26, 25, 39]

Total funding reported varies by source and date, cited as US $18 million by late 2023, US $22 million by late 2023, and over CHF 22 million by mid-2025. Key investors include Swisscom Ventures, Verve Ventures, DAA Capital Partners, the EIC Fund, and ZEISS. [13, 18, 11, 25, 26, 38, 42]

Research and Intellectual Property

As of May 2025, CREAL holds 17 patent families covering aspects of its technology, including micro-emitter arrays, diffractive optical elements, foveated rendering pipelines, and real-time depth synthesis algorithms. [10, 36] Company engineers frequently present research at industry conferences such as SID Display Week, SPIE AR|VR|MR, and IEEE VR. [43]

Awards and Recognition

• #5, **TOP 100 Swiss Startups** (2022) [43]
• Gold Prize, **Swiss Technology Award** (Startup Category, 2021) [43]
• Finalist, **Auggie Awards** (Best Display Hardware, 2023) [43]
• Winner, Swisscom Start‑up Challenge (2018/2019) [37]
• Winner, Venture Kick Award (2018/2019) [37]

See Also

• Augmented Reality
• Virtual Reality
• Light-field display
• Light field
• Vergence-accommodation conflict
• Micro-display
• Display technology
• Head-mounted display
• Smartglasses