Ari Grobman (Lumus) on Estimating the Smartglasses Market and Cutting-Edge Combiner Optics
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The Guest
Ari Grobman is the CEO of Lumus, an optics company offering a unique approach to directing the light from the display system into our eyes and combining it with light from the real world. You may remember from my conversation with Karl Guttag that combiner optics are one of the most critical enabling technologies for widespread adoption of smartglasses, and Lumus is a company to watch.
Lumus calls their product an optical engine, and it provides an unmatched combination of see-through performance and a wide field of view in the most compact package.
Ari joined the company more than 10 years ago to lead business development, and was promoted to the role of CEO in early 2017.
The Conversation
In this conversation, Ari and I discuss the tradeoffs of popular optics solutions for smartglasses, and what sets Lumus apart. These advantages have enabled Lumus to become a supplier to many of the major smartglasses manufacturers of today as well as those exploring what’s coming tomorrow. As a result, Ari has some excellent insight into the current sales of smartglasses and how and when sales might accelerate.
We get into some estimated numbers, timeframes, and capabilities of the next few waves of products based on what he sees in the market.
We also talk about the importance of building business relationships by being “a real mensch” as opposed to treating each interaction as a one-off transaction.
The Request
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