Shi Xiaogang, born 90 years ago, left Huawei to start business in early 2015, but doesn't like to be called a 90 after entrepreneur
At present, in the AR/VR field, everyone is optimistic about AR (Augmented Reality) and even more so than VR (Virtual Reality), but AR is not mature enough and its prospects are not clear. In this environment, a new financing news is even more worthy of attention.
"Overall speaking, from the second half of last year to this year, the situation of the entire capital is not good. Although everyone in the AR industry is very much in agreement and it is estimated that it will reach consumers three to five years later, everyone is not sure about this time." Xiaolong Technology CEO Shi Xiaogang of the field and smart glasses development told Lei Fengwang (search for "Lei Feng Net" public number concerned) . "The capital situation of the entire AR industry is not very good, and pure financial investment is very small."
Snapdragon has just announced that it has received RMB 50 million in A+ round financing from BOE Leading Investment. The company had obtained tens of millions of RMB A round of financing from Lixin Precision Leading Investment in early 2016. For this company established in June of 15 years, three rounds of financing for angels, A and A+ were completed within one year, and the speed was still very fast.
For start-ups, it is also important for financing to be able to support its own technology, products and development, in addition to financial support. In this financing, the mutual choice between Snapdragon and the investors also passed this consideration.
BOE is a state-owned enterprise with a market capitalization of more than 80 billion yuan. It has a large volume and its main business is a display panel. In recent years, it has invested heavily in the construction of AMOLED panel factories. For BOE, besides betting on the visible market (smart phones, VR), the focus for the future is mainly on anticipating that it may replace the AR screen of the physical screen.
BOE has been betting on the AR field. In fact, the company had already invested in the famous AR startup company Meta in the world as early as 2014. Shi Xiaogang believes that the strategic fit of the two has contributed to investment. However, BOE can provide more than this, he said the following three points are also the reasons for the investment.
First, BOE has a large piece of business that is the OEM of the whole machine. The two sides will form a deep cooperation on the whole OEM. For start-up companies, there is a huge gap between R&D products and production products, and many product skip tickets are also unable to cross this gap. In fact, this product that Xiaolong already sells is the leader of the previous round of investment.
Secondly, Xiaolong and BOE will also have strong cooperation in the R&D of the whole machine . With the latter's strong supplier resources and R&D resources, they can help the products to be smaller and apply more advanced technologies.
Third, sales of current AR glasses at the C-end are difficult to do. BOE has a government background and has many 2B channels. There are many market resources in this area.
In addition to BOE, which fits well with AR, the background of Xiaolong's financing and the fund of Beijing Gonggong Hongyuan are also important. Jinggong Hongyuan Fund is a college scientific and technological achievement conversion fund jointly initiated and established by the Zhongguancun Development Group, Yizhuang SDIC, Haidian Science Park, and Beijing Institute of Technology. These government-backed LPs can help Xiaolong get some government preferential policies and potential orders.
The North Polytechnic University is the alma mater of Shi Xiaogang, and the research on AR display technology ranks in the front ranks of the country. Both parties have already cooperated technically. In addition, Beijing Polytechnic has very good resources and background in the military, and it will help Xiaolong's products in the future.
First generation XLOONG sports smart glasses
Product: Short-term planning and long-term planning In July 16th, Xiaolong Technology launched its own first-generation product, the XLOONG sports smart glasses, focusing on the riding field . Officials disclosed that the number of orders has reached thousands. Obviously, this is not yet an industry-worthy sales volume that has already exploded in the market, but everyone thinks this piece has a bright future. In response to this situation, Shi Xiaogang prepared a short-term plan and a long-term plan for the company's products.
Short-term planning products emphasize technology maturity, easy landing and market harvesting. At present, among the three products Xiaolong is doing, two of them are focused on short-term planning. One is a simple AR product for education and entertainment, and the specific information cannot be disclosed; the other is binocular AR glasses. The next generation of models will not use very daring technologies, such as high-cost waveguide optical solutions and SLAM interactions that are not mature enough in the short term. Shi Xiaogang believes that it is almost impossible for Chinese SLAM to achieve the same level as HoloLens. Both products use mature technology and are easy to mass-produce.
The other binocular AR glasses that Panlong is still working on are long-term product plans and will use various advanced technologies, including SLAM, as well as the lens of the Israeli startup Lumus, which Shi Xiaogang believed possesses the world's most powerful waveguide optical technology. The company's pair of lenses cost as much as $1,500 and the output is very low.
Lumus launches an official eyewear design reference that is close to normal eyeglasses
At present, many domestic startup companies are doing cross-border AR / VR field, but Shi Xiaogang said the company will stick to the field of AR, he believes that the most important thing is to focus on startup companies, but after companies such as the money from the block, nor Exclusion will expand into other areas.
Why Chinese companies do not invest in domestic manufacturers?In the AR field, although Xiaolong may be an exception, overall it is favored by domestic capital for more overseas companies. Ali voted for Magic Leap, Tencent voted for Meta, Shanda and Crystal Optoelectronics voted for Lumus... Such large investments amounted to more small investments. The reason, Shi Xiaogang believes, is that “the AR industry has not yet gotten up. There is a relatively long technical dividend period. Everyone is investing in technology. Whoever can master the upstream core technology will be favored.â€
“ China does not have a very good environment, so that everyone will be absorbed in technology. Magic Leap is doing custom display in the light field, which requires huge investment and long-term technology accumulation, and the United States has this environment to do upstream technology Accumulation," he said.
In fact, as in other fields, domestic AR/VR companies have a lot of follow-up game startup companies that will not do products and technologies. It is precisely for this reason that, together with the huge domestic potential market size, China’s capital will invest in companies that can capture market dividends, but only if this market breaks out. Of course, it is not ruled out that there are some technology-based startups that become gold in the gravel. They are aiming for a farther future for AR.
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