American wearables firm Realwear has acquired Swiss augmented reality (AR) startup Almer Technologies.
Almer’s AR headset — the Arc-2 — overlays digital information onto the wearer’s field of view, allowing them to access real-time data, instructions, or assistance from an engineer seated anywhere in the world. The glasses are targeted specifically at industrial companies looking to help their staff maintain and repair equipment and machinery remotely.
“Almer’s innovative approach for frontline workers has enabled us to deliver industrial AR solutions that are intuitive and effortless to use,” said Sebastian Beetschen, Almer’s co-founder and CEO.
Beetschen founded Almer alongside Timon Binder in 2021 as a spin-off from a research project at the Swiss Insitute for Technology. The company has raised $8mn in funding so far. Its clients include Coca-Cola, Ford, and Samsung.
For Realwear, the acquisition is part of its plans to become a global leader in the industrial wearables space. For Almer, the deal bolsters the budding company’s ambitions to scale at pace and expand beyond Europe.
“We are thrilled that the Almer team is joining forces with the American leader in the augmented reality space for frontline workers,” said Olivier Laplace, managing partner at Swiss VC Vi Partners. The firm was an early back of Almer.
“This strategic move validates our early conviction that Almer is a technical front-runner,” said Laplace, who will now join the board of directors of Realwear.
The acquisition comes as the market for AR, and extended reality (XR) more broadly, consolidates.
The initial hype around XR sparked a wave of startups and experimental applications, driven by excitement over immersive digital experiences. Now, as the market matures, we’re beginning to see where the technology adds real value.
XR tech can now be found in any industry that benefits from immersive interactions. Healthtech has been one of the greatest use cases. AR is used to provide train medical professionals, enhance patient diagnostics, and even facilitate remote surgeries.
Startups in transportation, manufacturing, professional training and construction are also harnessing the technology. And of course, gaming and entertainment — the early targets of the XR market — still make up a sizeable portion of the market.
Almer’s buyout was financially backed by TeamViewer, a major player in enterprise AR software that owns a minority stake in both Almer and Realwear.
Almer will continue to operate from its headquarters in Switzerland. The deal amount was not disclosed.
