Dutch Augmented Reality Firm Layar Raises $1 Million
Dutch augmented reality company Layar is about to close “more than $1 million” in its latest, undisclosed round of funding, according to Venturebeat.com. The company, which launched its product in April this year, has created technology using a phone’s GPS, compass, and accelerometer to display images and other data on top of a mobile phone screen.
To use the application, currently available on Android devices, the iPhone, and as of Wednesday, Symbian Nokia (NYSE: NOK) phones, users point their phone at an object which appears on the device’s screen with information—or what the company calls “content layers” displayed on top of it. The layers, the equivalent of pages in a web browser, are created by developers, and so far, the company’s website says there are around 178 of them. The layers range from real estate ones, like Trulia, which will allows a user to point to a house and pull up information, to one for the London Underground and another for Wikipedia. The company is hoping that developers will eventually build thousands of layers. A possible source of revenue could come from advertisers sponsoring the layers, or if the company can figure out how to do this, allow ads to run across the layers.
Posted In: Mobile, Money, M&A & Venture Capital, Venture Capital, Technologies / Formats

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