Vuzix to dominate enterprise smart glasses market with competitive product lineup, technology roadmap and patent portfolio

The market for augmented reality eyewear is thriving and Rochester, New York-based Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) (FRA:V7XN) is heading the charge as a leader in smart glasses.

Google and Microsoft have raced to create smart glasses along with other tech giants, but widely followed institutional investors like ARK Investment Management see Vuzix as a powerhouse with its suite of products, long roster of clients and valuable intellectual property (IP). The firm has built a strong patent portfolio in the key AR smart glasses areas of optical waveguides, small projection engines, including microLED displays, and overall product designs.

Undoubtedly, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the rise in remote work is driving smart glasses integration in remote field service, telemedicine and medical fields. Medical device giant Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) has embraced the use of Vuzix Smart Glasses in the operating room to reduce prep time, limit the need for travel, and provide critical support virtually.

Similarly, the Surgical Sight program run by Ohana One utilizes Vuzix Smart Glasses and Help Lightning software to connect mentors with surgeons around the globe to boost training in surgery. BioSig Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:BSGM) has also struck a partnership with Vuzix, which will see the medical technology firm deploy Vuzix’ M400 Smart Glasses for remote servicing of its PURE EP System in hospitals.

Vuzix also provides the hardware backbone for the NextAR surgical AR platform developed by Medacta International, one of the world’s largest providers of orthopedic products. On top of that, Vuzix won more than $1.2 million in new orders in May from Rods & Cones, the provider of a fully virtual surgical collaboration platform, for monthly deliveries of Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses beginning immediately and over the remainder of 2021.

“Many of our major smart glasses application uses have seen dramatic increases in customer activity including remote field service, telemedicine and other see-what-I-see features we offer,” Vuzix founder CEO Paul Travers told Proactive.

“The revenue growth seen from this is just the start of an expected groundswell as customers that have implemented our products and technologies due to travel restrictions come to realize that they simply represent a better, more efficient way of doing business,” he added.

For the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, Vuzix set another record for smart glasses sales which more than doubled to $3.8 million, compared to $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2020. The firm credited the 150% year-over-year sales jump to customers placing “larger and more frequent orders” for its smart glasses.

Vuzix now offers the strongest lineup of smart glasses solutions across the competitive landscape with its three current solutions: the M400, the M4000 and the Blade Upgraded.

Proactive sat down with CEO Travers, an AR industry expert, to learn more about the company’s high-growth business and new product development.

Proactive: Why is Vuzix a compelling story for investors?

Paul Travers: Vuzix, one of the few publicly traded pure plays in the AR/Smart Glasses space, has industry-leading products and IP that should allow it to capture a meaningful share of what is projected to become a multi-billion-dollar industry over the next two to five years.

The smart glass concept was thrust into the spotlight with Google Glass, then we saw Amazon Echo Frames. Now both Lenovo ThinkReality A3 and Facebook Ray Ban smart glasses are expected to hit the market in 2021. How do Vuzix smart glasses stack up against the competition and best it?

Vuzix’ AR/Smart Glasses have a number of attributes that make them one of the strongest competitors in the enterprise customer space, including lightweight, 4K video streaming capability, crisp readable occluded and see-through displays, hot-swappable batteries, day-long wearability, either eye use, hands-free usage and a broad array of attachments. Most competitors’ solutions fall short or lack many of these features.

Where are you seeing the greatest interest and adoption of Vuzix smart glasses?

Telemedicine and warehousing/logistics are presently two of our more exciting market verticals with remote support continuing to see broadening usage also.

Vuzix reported $145 million in cash and equivalents as of April 1 this year. Do you plan to channel your strong cash position towards funding product development and possible related acquisitions of other firms?

Yes, two of the primary uses of our cash will be to support product development and potential acquisitions with a focus on building up our software-as-a-service (SaaS) business.

Has the pandemic created a demand for Vuzix products due to travel restrictions and are you seeing an acceleration in sales? Has Vuzix added support for several popular video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams?

The onset of COVID-19 led to an immediate demand surge for remote support solutions such as AR/Smart Glasses for a broad range of industry verticals across the globe, allowing us to more than double our year-over-year sales over the past several quarters. At the same time, Vuzix steadily expanded its support for a widening list of video conferencing platforms including Zoom, Skype for Business, Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams and most recently BlueJeans by Verizon.

What are some of the features of the Vuzix Blade Upgraded version that have clicked with your enterprise customers since you began shipments last fall?

The addition of stereo audio and an autofocus camera in Blade Upgraded have greatly increased enterprise interest among select customers for this product.

Tell us about your next-generation smart glasses (NGSG) and when they will hit the market?

Our NGSG will feature advanced ultra-thin optical waveguides, slim low-power microLED-based displays and integrated acoustic chamber speakers with noise-canceling mics, with cellular capabilities in some models. They will be built around Vuzix’ smart glasses ecosystem platform supporting development tools, cloud APIs and the Vuzix App Store.

Early evaluation models are currently slated for introduction to select customers and developers by the end of 2021 with general availability occurring in 2022.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive

Story by ProactiveInvestors