This week, following its internal experimental deployment of AR smart glasses for delivery drivers, Amazon, via its Alexa Fund, helped to provide a total of $36.5 million to Helsinki-based AR smart glasses developers IXI-in collaboration with other investors.
Following an operational stealth period, the move helps IXI create its first device. Plural led the Series A funding round, with other contributors to the IXI Series A funding round including Tesi, byFounders, Heartcore, Eurazeo, FOV Ventures, Tiny Supercomputer, and previous investors to the start-up (Maki.vc, First Fellow, firstminutecapital, John Lindfors, Illusian, and the Bragiel Brothers).
Sten Tamkivi, a Partner at Plural, added:
Niko, Ville and the team’s rare European hardware expertise puts them at the forefront of advanced optics and eye-tracking developments. They’re creating beautiful, literally invisible technology that pioneers a new approach to vision which will finally improve human eyesight once and for all. By backing IXI, we’re not just investing in a company, but in a future where technology revolutionises how we see the world.
Amazon Dives Deep into AR
The timing comes as Amazon explores AR smart glasses to help its delivery drivers, and while Niko Eiden, CEO, noted how the smart glasses market is “a really hard space to be in because there is no market, and the volumes are not there,” having a giant-backer like Amazon proactvily experimenting with the technology may provide fuel for the firm to grow-just as smart glasses boom.
Last year, Amazon announced plans to deploy its new custom smart glasses for delivery drivers. These glasses will utilise augmented reality visualisations to assist drivers with their routes, particularly on-foot navigation to customer delivery points.
Internally codenamed “Amelia,” the smart glasses feature a small AR display, an outward-facing camera to confirm delivered packages, Alexa voice commands, and an integrated AI chatbot.
According to reports, Amazon’s smart glasses will provide AR turn-by-turn navigation visualisations, helping delivery workers walk towards buildings and identifying obstacles to save time during deliveries.
The AR smart glasses are also designed to enable delivery workers to operate hands-free, removing the need to use handheld GPS devices. Overall, the Amazon smart glasses aim to enhance the delivery process by offering hands-free guidance that quickly displays directions, allowing workers to carry more packages efficiently.
Speaking to Reuters, an Amazon spokesperson added:
We are continuously innovating to create an even safer and better delivery experience for drivers. We otherwise don’t comment on our product roadmap.
Amazon’s AR smart glasses are designed to optimise the last 100 yards—or final steps—of package delivery to customers, an area the company is actively working to enhance. However, despite an initial promising outlook, the development of the AR device is not guaranteed.
Reports indicate that Amazon may delay or abandon the smart glasses project if significant challenges arise. Given the high-stakes, high-performance culture surrounding Amazon’s delivery operations, several issues could impede the prototype’s progress, including battery life, weight, distracting visuals, and the integration of real-world data.
IXI may offer Amazon a third-party augmented reality option. Additionally, the company is developing a second generation of its Echo Frames smart glasses, which are expected to launch in 2026. This new product could be connected to the Amelia project and the IXI investment.
