A faculty member from UMass Amherst founded Myrias Optics, which raised $3 million in a seed investment round to launch a new class of optics

December 16, 2023

  • Asia Optical Inc. led Myrias Optics, which was founded on research from the Watkins Group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, to announce today that it has raised $3 million in seed funding. The money will be used by Myrias, a young firm that develops all-inorganic printed meta-optics, to satisfy increasing client interest in the structure, materials, and process technology platform of the business. Tenon Ventures, HOSS funding Inc., and UMass Amherst are also involved in this funding round.
  • Myrias Optics, a UMass Amherst faculty member-founded company, raised $3 million in a seed funding round to introduce a new class of optics.
  • AMHERST, Mass., December 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Based on research from the Watkins Group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Asia Optical Inc. prompted Myrias Optics to announce today that company has raised $3 million in startup investment. Myrias, a small company that creates all-inorganic printed meta-optics, will use the funds to meet growing customer interest in the organization’s materials, process technology platform, and structure. In this fundraising round, Tenon Ventures, HOSS funding Inc., and UMass Amherst are also participating.
  • “We are very excited to already have multiple Tier 1 customers engaging in AR/VR and consumer electronics applications where Myrias IP and expertise provide unrivalled cost, performance and lifetime advantages over existing etched or printed polymer-based processes,” Patrick Tan, CEO of Myrias, stated. “We are particularly excited to work with Asia Optical to develop and deploy a new class of optics that enables products that are compact, lighter and easier to assemble at significantly lower costs.”
  • Thanks to a $5 million grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the Watkins Group’s optical technology development and adoption are expected to pick up significant speed in Massachusetts. With the help of the grant, UMass Amherst will be able to create an Advanced Optics Fabrication and Characterization Facility that is open to the public, providing a special resource for researchers and industry partners from all throughout the state.

Optics by Myrias

  • Professor James Watkins founded Myrias Optics in 2021, and since then, the company has used nanoparticle compositions to obtain exclusive worldwide licenses’ to six core patents.
  • Asia Lens
  • Asia Optical (TSE: 3019) is a company that produces and markets optoelectronic devices and optical lenses.
  • Massachusetts Amherst
  • UMass Amherst, the premier campus of the institution of Massachusetts system and the top public research institution in New England, was established in 1863. Tenon Enterprises Advisers and serial entrepreneurs founded Tenon, a new venture capital firm, to assist in transforming the next wave of deep-tech concepts into profitable businesses. HOSS Capital Taiwan-based investment firm HOSS Investment specializes in businesses in innovative deep-tech industries and advanced manufacturing.

Asia Lens

  • Asia Optical (TSE: 3019) is a company that produces and markets optoelectronic devices and optical lenses.

Massachusetts Amherst

  • UMass Amherst, the premier campus of the institution of Massachusetts system and the top public research institution in New England, was established in 1863. Tenon Enterprises Advisers and serial entrepreneurs founded Tenon, a new venture capital firm, to assist in transforming the next wave of deep-tech concepts into profitable businesses. HOSS Capital Taiwan-based investment firm HOSS Investment specializes in businesses in innovative deep-tech industries and advanced manufacturing.

Asia Lens

  • Asia Optical (TSE: 3019) is a company that produces and markets optoelectronic devices and optical lenses.

Massachusetts Amherst

  • UMass Amherst, the premier campus of the institution of Massachusetts system and the top public research institution in New England, was established in 1863. Tenon Enterprises Advisers and serial entrepreneurs founded Tenon, a new venture capital firm, to assist in transforming the next wave of deep-tech concepts into profitable businesses. HOSS Capital Taiwan-based investment firm HOSS Investment specializes in businesses in innovative deep-tech industries and advanced manufacturing.

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