Making it Work: Augmented reality tech firm plans new funding round a year after raising €5m

Antikytera E-Technologies, a Dublin-headquartered tech company seeking to bring augmented reality (AR) into video calls and other forms of remote communication, is already planning another funding round less than a year after raising up to €5 million from a German fund.

The company claims its AR technology can dramatically improve companies’ internal communications as well as their interactions with customers or clients.

Kristian Karazissis and Paula Guimaraes, the company’s founders, relocated from Italy in 2017 to establish Antikytera in Dublin because it offered a “less bureaucratic environment” in which to start a business.

Four years later, the pair run a 20-person team and have partnerships with major companies including Anglian Water and Baker Hughes, which employ tens of thousands of people between them.

Antikytera has developed remote assistance software called Ermes, which allows companies to incorporate AR into video calls, recorded tutorials and live webcasts.

On a live webcast, the host can overlay 3D images on the screen as well as inserting arrows or text to explain a concept or label a virtual object or diagram. They can perform similar functions in pre-recorded videos or in live meetings.

And unlike other products on the market, Antikytera does not require users to wear goggles or other equipment; its technology runs on smartphones using iOS or Android.

Karazissis, an engineering graduate of Italian and Greek heritage, said Antikytera was pushing the boundaries of what could be achieved with remote communications, and added that the software was particularly useful for companies that work in many locations or remotely.

“You can interact with it, you can draw with it, you can take notes. All of this software did not exist in the form that we made it,” he said.

The company works with a number of car manufacturers that use the AR technology to work via video call on developing or refining car parts which they view in 3D model form on screen.

Using Ermes, technicians in the field can connect with experts working remotely who can then guide them through how to fix a problem or tinker with a machine that can’t be viewed in person.

Antikytera is understood to be in advanced negotiations to establish a partnership with a leading car manufacturer, which employs more than 180,000 people around the world. The deal could be worth up to €1 million to the tech company.

The Enterprise Ireland-backed company is firmly global in focus, working with clients in the US, Europe and Asia. It has yet to attract an Irish customer, however, and Karazissis said he was working to convince Irish companies of the benefits of incorporating Antikytera’s technology into their communications.

“I’ve spoken to many Irish companies. Maybe now they will start to trust me more,” he said.

The company remains bullish about its growth plans for a post-pandemic world, and will launch another funding round in the coming year.

“Every week, there is a venture capitalist contacting me from this space. In this field, we are the only company making these things,” Karazissis said.