CREAL

CREAL
Information
Type	Private company
Industry	Display technology, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Light-field Display
Founded	November 2017
Founder	Tomas Sluka, Alexander Kvasov
Headquarters	Lausanne, Switzerland
Notable Personnel	Tomas Sluka (CEO and Co-founder), Alexander Kvasov (Co-founder)
Products	Light-field micro-display technology
Website	https://creal.com/

See also: Companies

CREAL (pronounced "see real") is a Swiss display technology company specializing in light-field display solutions for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications. Founded in 2017 by former CERN engineers, the company develops advanced light-field micro-display technology that enables a more natural visual experience in AR and VR systems by accurately recreating how light exists in the real world.

The company's advanced technology addresses a critical challenge in the AR/VR industry known as the "vergence-accommodation conflict," which causes visual discomfort, eye strain, and limits the capability of current AR and VR displays to show objects at realistic focal distances.

History

CREAL was founded in November 2017 by Tomas Sluka and Alexander Kvasov in Lausanne, Switzerland. The company emerged from the Swiss tech innovation hub with a technical team drawn from cutting-edge projects at institutions such as CERN, EPFL, Intel, and Magic Leap.

The company's name "CREAL" is a play on "seeing real," reflecting their mission to create display technology that allows users to perceive digital content in the same way they see the real world.

CEO Tomas Sluka's journey into light-field technology began around 2012-2014, motivated by his personal sensitivity to the vergence-accommodation conflict experienced in early VR headsets.

Key Milestones

• 2017 (November): CREAL founded by Tomas Sluka and Alexander Kvasov in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• 2018 (May): Closed a CHF 0.85 million seed round led by SICTIC investors.
• 2019 (January): Demonstrated their first prototype light-field display at CES 2019.
• 2019: Raised a Series A round of CHF 4.3 million, plus CHF 2.5 million as a grant from the European Innovation Council, and another CHF 0.5 million as a subsidized loan from the Fondation pour l'Innovation Technologique.
• 2020 (January): Showcased progress in miniaturizing their light-field display technology at CES 2020.
• 2020 (November): Raised CHF 6.5 million (~$7.2 million) in a Series A+ investment round led by Swisscom Ventures with participation from existing investors Investiere, DAA Capital Partners, and Ariel Luedi.
• 2021: Created preliminary AR and VR headset development kits.
• 2023 (September): Announced commercial availability of its light-field AR solution by early 2024, with a total of $18 million in funding raised to date.
• 2024 (September): In September 2024, CREAL announced a significant licensing agreement with ZEISS Vision Care, under which ZEISS will integrate CREAL's light-field display technology into devices aimed at creating a digitized vision care platform for examining eye conditions and simulating lenses, intended to modernize vision diagnostics.
• 2025 (January): Unveiled its new light-field display for augmented reality ready for integration.
• 2025 (March): Achieved first light from Photonic Integrated Chip.
• 2025 (April): Ex-Meta's Reality Labs VP of Research (AR/VR Display & Optics) joined CREAL advisory board.

Technology

Light-field Display Technology

CREAL's core innovation is its light-field display technology, which differs fundamentally from conventional displays used in current AR and VR headsets. While conventional displays present two flat-screen images to create a stereoscopic illusion of three-dimensional imagery, CREAL's technology recreates the light rays as they exist in the real world.

The key technological advantage of CREAL's solution lies in its ability to support both focus mechanisms of the human visual system:

1. Vergence (also called stereoscopy): Where both eyes point at the same object to bring overlapping views of that object into focus 2. Accommodation: The ability to focus at different distances by bending the lens of the eye

By supporting both mechanisms, CREAL's display addresses the "vergence-accommodation conflict" that causes visual discomfort in conventional AR and VR displays, where the eyes are forced to focus at a fixed distance while attempting to converge on objects that appear at different depths.

Technical Implementation

According to a 2017 patent application by CREAL co-founder Tomas Sluka titled "Near-eye sequential light-field projector with correct monocular depth cues," the company's approach to creating light-fields differs from traditional methods:

• Instead of using a microlens array (a common approach in light-field technology), CREAL's device emits several smaller pinhole-aperture light fields
• These smaller light fields are guided to the eye using mirrors
• The light fields can be produced using a pinhole mask in front of multiple LEDs, or with individual diodes coupled with an optical fiber whose exit point acts as a point light
• These sub-light fields are selectively combined into a single light field by use of a spatial light modulator (SLM)
• The SLM can use various mechanisms to selectively guide light rays or pin-hole light fields into or out of view, with a digital micromirror device being the primary example described in the patent

For AR applications, CREAL's light-field display uses a combiner (no waveguides needed) with a thin holographic film laminated onto a standard or prescription lens, making it compatible with vision correction requirements.

The company has continually miniaturized its technology from large benchtop demonstrations to progressively smaller form factors suitable for head-mounted displays. In March 2025, CREAL achieved first light from a Photonic Integrated Chip, marking a significant step in the miniaturization process.

Products and Business Model

Rather than developing its own headsets, CREAL positions itself as a technology creator and licensor. The company develops reference designs and technology packages that can be integrated into partners' products.

CREAL's product offerings include:

• Technology evaluation kits for potential partners
• Light-field display reference designs for AR and VR applications
• Licensable hardware and software packages
• Integration services for OEMs and ODMs

The company's light-field technology is particularly focused on enabling AR experiences within the user's personal space (arm's reach), where traditional AR displays struggle due to vergence-accommodation conflicts.

Applications

CREAL's light-field display technology has various potential applications across multiple industries:

• Healthcare: Allowing surgeons to view medical information through AR glasses while performing procedures, enhancing precision and reducing the need to consult external displays
• Technical Training: Facilitating more intuitive training for technical tasks by showing how to perform repairs or maintenance with properly focused AR overlays
• Gaming and Entertainment: Providing more comfortable and realistic VR/AR experiences by eliminating eye strain and nausea
• Vision Care: Integrating AR capabilities with prescription eyewear while maintaining optimal vision correction

Investment and Growth

Since its founding in 2017, CREAL has successfully raised significant funding to support its research and development efforts:

• May 2018: CHF 0.85 million seed round led by SICTIC investors
• 2019: CHF 7.3 million (CHF 4.3M Series A round, CHF 2.5M grant from the European Innovation Council, CHF 0.5M loan from Fondation pour l'Innovation Technologique)
• November 2020: CHF 6.5 million (~$7.2 million) Series A+ round led by Swisscom Ventures

As of September 2023, CREAL had raised a total of $18 million in funding and expanded to a team of approximately 30 people worldwide. The company has secured 17 patent families related to its light-field technology.

See Also

• Augmented Reality
• Virtual Reality
• Light-field
• Vergence-accommodation conflict
• Display technology