Recently, well-known display and optics blogger Karl Guttag announced on his blog that Snap, the parent company of the US social application Snapchat, has acquired Composite Photonics, a manufacturer of micro-display technologies such as LCoS silicon liquid crystals and MicroLED, and speculated that Snap plans to use LCOS technology in the AR glasses it produces.
Founded in 2007, Compound Photonics is a provider of compact, high-resolution microdisplay solutions for augmented and mixed reality. It was originally patented by LCoS manufacturer Syntax-Brillian, which offers a variety of services including MicroLED displays, LCoS displays, optical engine reference designs, and micro display development kits.
According to Karl Guttag, WaveOptics currently leans toward LCoS solutions in waveguides, but Snap's first AR prototype uses Texas Instruments' DLP optical machine. Karl Guttag believes that the main reason for driving the acquisition is Snap's interest in Complete Photonics in LCoS technology, as MicroLED for waveguides is still years away before it becomes a consumer product, and Meta's mega-acquisition has also affected and stimulated Snap.
As the core of AR glasses, the micro-display field has always been a territory of major giants competing with each other. Snap has been aggressively entering the AR/VR space in recent years, and in May last year, Snap acquired AR waveguide display maker WaveOptics for more than $500 million.