Lynx

Founded in 2019 by Stan Larroque, Lynx is a Paris-based company at the forefront of mixed reality (MR) hardware. Larroque, an engineer with a passion for the intersection of hardware, optics, and computer vision, established the company to create a versatile and open alternative to the offerings from major tech corporations. The firm has navigated a challenging fundraising environment, securing a total of $6.8 million through various rounds, including a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2021 and a $4 million Series A in 2022 led by social VR platform Somnium Space.

Lynx's business revolves around the design and manufacturing of mixed reality headsets, with revenue generated from hardware sales and a planned 15% royalty from its own app store. The company targets a diverse client base, including developers, enterprise clients in industrial, medical, and defense sectors, and consumers. A core tenet of Lynx's strategy is its commitment to an open platform and user privacy. The operating system's code is auditable, and the devices can function entirely offline, giving users control over their data without mandatory cloud services.

The flagship product is the Lynx R-1, a standalone headset designed for both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). It operates on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 processor and features a resolution of 1600x1600 pixels per eye with a 90-degree field of view. A key feature is its four-fold catadioptric freeform prism lens, a complex design that enables a compact form factor. The R-1 facilitates mixed reality through color passthrough cameras and utilizes Ultraleap's technology for hand-tracking as the primary interaction method. It supports both standalone and tethered use, with compatibility for SteamVR via wireless streaming. The headset is offered in a Standard Edition and an Enterprise Edition, the latter providing a commercial license and enhanced support for advanced integrations.

Keywords: mixed reality headset, augmented reality, virtual reality, Stan Larroque, Lynx R-1, passthrough AR, standalone VR, enterprise XR, open platform VR, privacy-focused hardware, Qualcomm XR2, Ultraleap hand tracking, catadioptric lenses, Kickstarter hardware, European tech, Somnium Space, VR development, AR development, immersive technology, spatial computing