# WayRay

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**WayRay** was a Russian start-up with offices in [Switzerland](/source/Switzerland) and [Russia](/source/Russia). It developed holographic [AR](/source/Augmented_reality) technologies for connected cars.

With effect of 14 August 2023, the Zurich probate court declared the bankruptcy of the WayRay AG, Switzerland.[1] The company's assets have been officially liquidated since this date.[2]

## History

According to Vitaly Ponomarev, company's founder, the idea of a device that projects navigational information on the windshield of the car came to him after the accident into which he got when he was distracted by the [GPS navigator](/source/GPS_navigation_device). The concept was gradually supplemented by social network and augmented reality. By December 2011, the idea became a project of a portable [collimator](/source/Collimator) to be installed on a car's front panel. Using a thin holographic film on the windshield instead of a mirror system made it possible to reduce the dimensions of the device. In the spring of 2012, the device was presented for the first time.[3]

In October 2013, WayRay took the prize at the Intel Global Challenge, [UC Berkeley](/source/University_of_California,_Berkeley), California, and the following month got shortlisted as a finalist at [Slush](/source/Slush_(event)), a startup competition in Helsinki, Finland.[4][5]

In November 2017, at the [LA Auto Show](/source/LA_Auto_Show), WayRay was selected as the grand prize winner of the 2017 Top Ten Automotive Startups Competition.[6][7]

WayRay's achievements have been covered by various media: in 2013, *[Business Insider](/source/Business_Insider)* magazine listed WayRay among the 11 Hottest Startups in Northern Europe; in 2017, [*Wired* magazine](/source/Wired_(magazine)) included WayRay in the Top 10 Startups Racing to Remake The Auto Industry.[8][9][10] Later in 2018, *[VentureBeat](/source/VentureBeat)* named the company one of “7 promising tech startups shaking up the auto industry.”[11]

## Investments

Initial capital of WayRay was 300,000 USD of personal and borrowed funds of the founder, which was aimed at designing electronics and developing a chemical formula of the film, later ordered at [DuPont](/source/DuPont).

In 2017, the Chinese internet giant [Alibaba Group](/source/Alibaba_Group) led an $18 million Series B round.[12] In September 2018, the company raised another $80 million in Series C round led by Porsche.[13][14][15] As of then, WayRay had a valuation of $500 million.[16]

## Developments

The company had announced several development projects in the field of augmented reality for the automotive industry:

- *Deep Reality Display* was supposed to be a new generation of WayRay's True AR HUD where different parts of the virtual image can appear at different distances.[17]
- *Holograktor* was supposed to be a ride-sharing concept car from Swiss deep-tech with its True AR HUD. The WayRay Holograktor EV would have run three separate “Real Augmented Reality” holographic displays, with one for each of its three occupants.[18]
- *True AR SDK* was an augmented reality development framework for third-party developers which allows building AR apps for cars. These apps would have been able to run on holographic AR displays and complemented the native AR interface.[19]

In November 2017 WayRay won the grand prize in the Top Ten Automotive Startups Competition at [LA Auto Show](/source/LA_Auto_Show). In addition to the prize money, the company was granted other perks from companies represented among panel judges. Those perks included access to [Microsoft Azure](/source/Microsoft_Azure) cloud infrastructure, a new [Nvidia Drive PX 2 AI](/source/Drive_PX-series) computer and access to [Elektrobit's](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elektrobit) software network for automated driving and consulting services from Porsche Consulting.[20]

In January 2018, the CES-2018 company showed off its Navion navigation system for the first time. Also at CES, WayRay demonstrated its development platform *True AR SDK*, which was created to allow others to build [augmented reality](/source/Augmented_reality) apps for automobiles.[19] In February 2018, the company announced a new competition seeking developers for its True SDK Challenge, a competition to create AR applications for cars.[21]

In November 2021 WayRay launched its own Holograktor car to showcase the holographic technology.[22]

## Automotive collaborations

WayRay's business model included both retail sales Navion Navigator and OEM-contracts with automakers on the supply of AR-system. In December 2015, the company announced a partnership agreement with the French provider of telecommunications services, [Orange Business Services](/source/Orange_Business_Services), under which it would have provided wireless connection and maintenance of WayRay products in the US.[23]

In January 2017, at the CES-2017 [Consumer Electronics Show](/source/Consumer_Electronics_Show) in [Las Vegas](/source/Las_Vegas), the company announced a strategic partnership with the US automotive electronics manufacturer Harman International Industries and the planned introduction of WayRay technologies into Harman's solutions for automakers. The autonomous [concept car](/source/Concept_car) *Oasis* of the Swiss company [Rinspeed](/source/Rinspeed) was presented at the exhibition. It is equipped with the [infotainment](/source/Infotainment) system with augmented reality developed by WayRay.[24][25][26][27][28]

[Banma Technologies](/source/Banma_Technologies), a joint venture between [Alibaba Group](/source/Alibaba_Group) and Chinese auto concern [SAIC Motor](/source/SAIC_Motor), was a WayRay's partner which worked with carmakers on its behalf.[29]

At Startup Autobahn 2018, Europe's largest innovation platform initiated by [Daimler AG](/source/Daimler_AG) and Plug and Play, WayRay announced its joint pilot project with the German automobile manufacturer [Porsche](/source/Porsche) and took home the People's Choice Award and the prize in the AR/VR category.[30][31][32][33] The company also cooperated with a number of automakers.[19]

## References

1. ["Provisional announcement of bankruptcy Wayray AG (Publication number: KK01-0000032156)"](https://www.shab.ch/#!/search/publications/detail/1aec5244-c661-4888-aef8-efc348ccd74e). *Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce SOGC*. 30 August 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-10.

1. ["Bankruptcy publication/call to creditors Wayray AG en liquidation (Publication number: KK02-0000037784)"](https://www.shab.ch/#!/search/publications/detail/a6056b37-4e99-4d69-b20e-03bd9ddc07c2). *Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce SOGC*. 8 December 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-10.

1. Allen Lee (2022-07-02). ["20 Things You Didn't Know About WayRay"](https://moneyinc.com/wayray/) [20 Things You Didn’t Know About WayRay]. Money Inc. Retrieved 2022-07-02.

1. ["BIT Contest announces Global Track nomination winners"](http://www.ewdn.com/2013/08/01/bit-contest-announces-global-track-nomination-winners/). *East-West Digital News*. 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. ["Meet The Winners From Slush, A Massive Startup Competition In Finland"](http://www.businessinsider.com/slush-2013-winners-2013-11). *Business Insider*. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. ["Alibaba Backed WayRay won Grand Prize on AutoMobility LA's Top Ten - VR World"](http://vrworld.com/2017/11/29/alibaba-backed-wayray-won-grand-prize-automobility-las-top-ten/). *VR World*. 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. ["Alibaba-backed augmented reality start-up makes driving look like a video game - CNBC"](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/wayray-uses-augmented-reality-to-turn-driving-into-a-video-game.html/). *CNBC*. 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. Megan Rose Dickey (2013-11-22). ["The 11 Hottest Startups In Northern Europe"](http://www.businessinsider.in/The-11-Hottest-Startups-In-Northern-Europe/PulseOn-claims-to-be-the-most-accurate-HR-monitor-/slideshow/26182644.cms). [Business Insider](/source/Business_Insider). Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. Nicholas Tufnell (2014-08-01). ["Europe's hottest startups 2014: Moscow"](https://www.wired.co.uk/article/moscow-1). *Wired UK*. [Wired magazine](/source/Wired_(magazine)). Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. ["Meet the Top 10 Startups Racing to Remake the Auto Industry"](https://www.wired.com/story/top-auto-transportation-startups/). *WIRED*. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. ["7 promising tech startups shaking up the auto industry"](https://venturebeat.com/2018/02/25/7-promising-tech-startups-shaking-up-the-auto-industry/). *VentureBeat*. 2018-02-26. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. Catherine Shu (2017-03-15). ["Alibaba invests in WayRay, a maker of augmented-reality dashboards for smart cars"](https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/15/alibaba-wayray/) [Alibaba invests in WayRay, a maker of augmented-reality dashboards for smart cars]. *[Techcrunch](/source/Techcrunch)*. Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. ["Porsche invests in Swiss start-up WayRay"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181017203322/https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-wayray-investment-augmented-reality-holographic-head-up-display-technology-swiss-start-up-16106.html). Porsche. 2018-09-18. Archived from [the original](https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-wayray-investment-augmented-reality-holographic-head-up-display-technology-swiss-start-up-16106.html) on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

1. ["Porsche leads $80 million investment in WayRay to bring holographic AR displays to cars"](https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/18/porsche-leads-80-million-investment-in-wayray-to-bring-holographic-ar-displays-to-cars/). *[VentureBeat](/source/VentureBeat)*. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

1. ["Porsche And Hyundai Are Looking To Add Augmented Reality To Future Models @ Top Speed"](https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/porsche-and-hyundai-are-looking-to-add-augmented-reality-to-future-models/). *Top Speed*. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

1. ["WayRay raises $80M at a $500M valuation led by Porsche for its holographic AR display tech"](https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/18/wayray-raises-80m-at-a-500m-valuation-led-by-porsche-for-its-holographic-ar-display-tech/). *TechCrunch*. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-30.

1. ["WayRay: What we do"](https://wayray.com/#what-we-do). Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. ["Holographic Breakthrough In The WayRay Holograktor Could Disrupt Car Interior Design"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltaylor/2021/11/30/holographic-breakthrough-in-the-wayray-holograktor-could-disrupt-car-interior-design/?sh=62d26a6a407d). *Forbes*. 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. Darrell Etherington (2018-01-09). ["WayRay's AR in-car HUD convinced me HUDs can be better"](https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/09/wayrays-ar-in-car-hud-convinced-me-huds-can-be-better/). Techcrunch. Retrieved 2018-02-26.

1. Robert Ferris (2017-11-27). ["Alibaba-backed augmented reality start-up makes driving look like a video game"](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/28/wayray-uses-augmented-reality-to-turn-driving-into-a-video-game.html). CNBC. Retrieved 2018-01-10.

1. Peter Graham (2018-02-08). ["WayRay Seeks AR Developers For Its True AR SDK Challenge"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181019185106/https://www.vrfocus.com/2018/02/wayray-seeks-ar-developers-for-its-true-sdk-challenge/). VR Focus. Archived from [the original](https://www.vrfocus.com/2018/02/wayray-seeks-ar-developers-for-its-true-sdk-challenge/) on 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2018-02-26.

1. ["Holographic Breakthrough in the WayRay Holograktor Could Disrupt Car Interior Design"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltaylor/2021/11/30/holographic-breakthrough-in-the-wayray-holograktor-could-disrupt-car-interior-design/?sh=34b9dc10407d). *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*

1. ["WayRay, navigation holographique"](http://www.servicesmobiles.fr/30020-30020/). Services Mobiles. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. Darrin Shewchuk (2017-01-04). ["HARMAN and Holographic AR Displays Pioneer WayRay Announce Collaboration for Automotive Market"](https://news.harman.com/releases/harman-and-holographic-ar-displays-pioneer-wayray-announce-collaboration-for-automotive-market). Harman Newsroom. Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. Jennifer Kite-Powell (2016-12-28). ["How To Drive A Concept Car With Holographic Navigation"](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferhicks/2016/12/28/how-to-drive-a-concept-car-with-holographic-navigation/#6ff1e2f71309). *[Forbes](/source/Forbes)*. Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. ["Honda Global | May 30, 2018 Overview of Honda Exhibit at CES ASIA 2018"](https://global.honda/newsroom/news/2018/c180530aeng.html). *Honda Global*. May 30, 2018. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

1. ["Honda Xcelerator"](https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/honda-xcelerator/vp-AAuB9lZ). *[MSN News](/source/MSN_News)*. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

1. WayRay (2018-07-20). ["WayRay rubs shoulders with Honda Xcelerator at CES Asia 2018"](https://medium.com/@WayRay/wayray-rubs-shoulders-with-honda-xcelerator-at-ces-asia-2018-888c1d5cc79d). *Medium*. Retrieved 2018-10-17.

1. ["WayRay announces strategic partnership with Banma Technologies with investment support from Alibaba Group"](https://sudonull.com/post/20344-WayRay-announces-strategic-partnership-with-Banma-Technologies-with-investment-support-from-Alibaba-). *Sudonull*. 2017-03-14. Retrieved 2017-04-23.

1. ["Porsche invests in Swiss start-up WayRay"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181104035415/https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-wayray-investment-augmented-reality-holographic-head-up-display-technology-swiss-start-up-16106.html). *Porsche Newsroom*. Archived from [the original](https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/company/porsche-wayray-investment-augmented-reality-holographic-head-up-display-technology-swiss-start-up-16106.html) on 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. ["WayRay raises $80M at a $500M valuation led by Porsche for its holographic AR display tech"](https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/18/wayray-raises-80m-at-a-500m-valuation-led-by-porsche-for-its-holographic-ar-display-tech/). *TechCrunch*. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. ["Porsche, Hyundai invest in WayRay to make augmented-reality HUDs"](https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/wayray-augmented-reality-hud-investment/). *Roadshow*. 2018-09-18. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

1. ["Porsche's new video game tech"](https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/motoring/hitech/porsche-brings-augmented-reality-to-cars/news-story/a36fc25cf399c98e3cbe2baad626b9de). *[news.com.au](/source/News.com.au)*. Retrieved 2018-11-20.

## Links

- [Official website](https://www.wayray.com/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [WayRay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WayRay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WayRay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.