Smart contact lens startup pivoting, laying off 75% of staff - Axios

Mojo Vision, a startup that had embarked connected a years-long effort to create a astute interaction lens with a built-in display, is pivoting from that absorption and laying disconnected three-quarters of its staff.

Why it matters: A fig of the astir ambitious efforts successful tech, particularly astir augmented and virtual reality, look challenges amid a slowing system and a much hard fundraising environment.

Details: The institution said successful a blog post connected Friday that it is shifting its near-term enactment to absorption connected the micro-LED show exertion it developed for usage successful the astute contact.

Between the lines: The institution demonstrated a moving prototype past year, but commercialization was inactive years off.

• "Even arsenic we made important merchandise improvement progress, Mojo has faced important challenges successful raising capital," CEO Drew Perkins said successful a blog post.
• "The slumping planetary economy, highly choky superior markets, and the yet-to-be proven marketplace imaginable for precocious AR products person each contributed to a concern wherever Mojo Vision has been incapable to find further backstage backing to proceed its improvement of Mojo Lens."

The large picture: Mojo Vision wasn't unsocial successful pursuing astute contacts.

• Google has invested successful trying to make lenses that tin beryllium utilized to measurement humor glucose, though this has proven to beryllium tricky.
• Other large names person besides explored the field, including Samsung, arsenic person startups specified arsenic Innovega.