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25+ AR, Datacom, and Consumer Electronics Customer Engagements Validate Myrias Optics’ All-Inorganic Metaoptics Platform

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All-inorganic NIL emerging as architectural standard for next-generation AR waveguides; Seed 1 extension brings total funding to $7.5m adds University of Massachusetts, Channel 39, and Hub Investment Group

 LOS ANGELES, May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Myrias Optics, the leading commercial platform for all-inorganic metaoptics manufactured via additive nanoimprint lithography (NIL) at wafer scale, today announced more than 25 active customer engagements across AR/VR, datacom, and consumer electronics, alongside the close of a $2.7 million Seed 1 extension. All-inorganic NIL produces AR waveguides that are smaller, thermally stable, and manufacturable on existing equipment — the combination required to take smart glasses from prototype to mass-market consumer hardware. The company debuts its AR waveguide and diffractive optics platform at DisplayWeek 2026 (iZone, Los Angeles Convention Center, May 5–7).

The University of Massachusetts, Channel 39, and Hub Investment Group join a nine-investor syndicate led by MassVentures. Combined with a $3.3 million seed round led by Asia Optical and $1.5 million in NSF SBIR funding, Myrias has raised $7.5 million to advance from R&D to pilot production samples for initial design partners in 2026.

To schedule a meeting with Myrias at DisplayWeek 2026: fijol@myriasoptics.com | watkins@myriasoptics.com

25+ Active Engagements and Counting
Since initial commercial funding, Myrias has built an active engagement pipeline of more than 25 accounts spanning the full photonics value chain:

AR/VR OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers — evaluating all-inorganic waveguides for next-generation smart glasses platforms, including multiple global OEMs and Fortune 500 technology companies.Datacom and co-packaged optics leaders — exploring high-index metaoptics for optical interconnects as AI-driven bandwidth demand accelerates.Consumer electronics and automotive OEMs — assessing thermally stable optics for LIDAR, automotive sensing, and consumer device integration.Manufacturing ecosystem partners — preparing NIL equipment and substrate supply chains for pilot production scale-up.

“The velocity of inbound interest since February has been remarkable. OEMs that were in evaluation mode are now requesting samples and discussing pilot timelines. The market isn’t waiting, and neither are we.”
— John Fijol, CEO, Myrias Optics

Independent Validation Accelerates Interest
The customer pull is amplified by a wave of independent technical validation. In April 2026, Chris Chinnock,  one of the display industry’s most respected analysts and president of Insight Media,  published a comprehensive whitepaper, “NIL vs. Etched Waveguides for AR Glasses: Is All-Inorganic NIL the Inevitable Choice?: Part 1: Process”, distributed to more than 15,000 industry subscribers. Part 1 of the paper systematically evaluated three competing waveguide manufacturing approaches with the soon-to-be published Part 2 will evaluate manufacturing, performance and cost issues. Readers can then decide if Myrias’s all-inorganic NIL approach offers the best choice for next-generation waveguides for AR glasses.

The same month, Electronic Design published a feature article, “A Novel Approach to a New Type of Optics”, profiling the company’s technology platform and its implications across AR glasses and data center interconnects.

The convergence of analyst endorsement, trade press coverage, and accelerating customer engagement has created a flywheel effect that the Seed 1 extension reflects.

The Technology Platform
All-inorganic NIL replaces the polymer nanostructures used in conventional nanoimprint lithography, as a drop-in replacement using UV and thermally-stable inorganic materials  eliminating the degradation that limits polymer-based waveguides. Myrias’s platform produces wafer-scale metaoptics with performance characteristics that set it apart from both polymer NIL and direct-etch approaches:

High refractive index — production ready from1.9 to 2.3 on glass today, targeting 2.6 by Q3. Higher index means wider field of view on fewer waveguide plates — thinner, lighter glasses at lower cost per eye.Aspect ratios up to 12:1 — vs. ~6:1 for conventional polymer NIL — delivering brighter displays with higher coupling efficiency and reduced optical loss.Full thermal and optical stability — no degradation under heat, UV, or humidity. Glasses survive direct sunlight, hot cars, and tropical climates without image drift or material breakdown, enabling true all-day consumer wearability.Drop-in equipment compatibility — runs on existing EVG, Canon SmartNIL, and GermanLitho NIL production lines, keeping CapEx low and enabling a path to sub-$100 per eye at volume.Tunable index via ALD backfill — precise waveguide index matching without material changes, eliminating rainbow artifacts and eye glow for social-grade wearability.

“This funding gets us to refractive index 2.6 and that’s the threshold. At 2.6, all-inorganic NIL becomes the inevitable manufacturing choice for broad adoption across the AR and VR industry. No other approach delivers this index at wafer scale on existing production equipment.”
— Jim Watkins, Ph.D., Founder, Myrias Optics

The Architecture Decision Window
The timing is strategic. Between 2027 and 2029, every major AR OEM (Meta, Apple, Samsung, Snap) will lock in the manufacturing approach for their next-generation smart glasses waveguides. The waveguide market, projected at $565 million in 2025, is converging on diffractive architectures. Three approaches are competing:

Type 1 — Polymer NIL: Widely deployed but thermally limited, lower index, aspect ratios capped at ~6:1.Type 2 — All-Inorganic NIL (Myrias): Drop-in for Type 1 equipment. Higher index, 12:1 aspect ratios, full thermal stability. The only approach combining NIL economics with inorganic performance.Type 3 — Direct Etch: High performance but capital-intensive and limited to semiconductor-grade fabs.

Unlike single-application startups, Myrias’s platform serves multiple high-growth photonics markets from a single manufacturing process including AR waveguides, datacom interconnects, beam-shaping optics for LIDAR, and diffractive elements for consumer and automotive sensing.

Meet Myrias at DisplayWeek 2026
Myrias Optics will be exhibiting in the Innovation Zone (iZone) at DisplayWeek 2026, Los Angeles Convention Center, May 5–7. The founding team will be available for meetings, demonstrations of wafer-level meta-optics samples, and discussions of pilot production partnerships.

Company Contacts and/or To schedule a meeting at DisplayWeek:
John Fijol, Ph.D., CEO — fijol@myriasoptics.com
Jim Watkins, Ph.D., Founder — watkins@myriasoptics.com
www.myriasoptics.com

About Myrias Optics

Myrias Optics is commercializing all-inorganic metaoptics manufactured via nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) on silicon carbide and glass substrates. The company’s wafer-level platform delivers tunable refractive indices up to 2.6, aspect ratios exceeding 12:1, and the thermal and optical stability required for next-generation AR waveguides, datacom interconnects, and consumer and automotive applications. Founded by Jim Watkins, Ph.D. (UMass Amherst, NSF Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing) and led by CEO John Fijol, Ph.D. (former Applied Materials), Myrias operates out of UMass Amherst’s world-class nanofabrication facilities. The company has raised $7.5M to date from MassVentures, Asia Optical, UMass, NSF, and a syndicate of deep-tech venture investors.

EDITOR’S NOTES:
This release is an update to the February 27, 2026 announcement of Myrias Optics’ initial Seed 1 close of $2.1M. The round has since been extended to $2.7M with additional strategic investors.

Additional supporting materials available upon request:

Chris Chinnock video review and Part 2 of white paper (forthcoming — Insight Media)High-resolution product images, wafer photographs, and founder headshotsTechnical one-pager and capability brief

Executive interviews and demo appointments available on request.

Tags: AR waveguides, XR optics, VR displays, meta-optics, nanoimprint lithography, diffractive waveguides, all-inorganic NIL, ALD, silicon carbide optics, wafer-scale photonics

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/25-ar-datacom-and-consumer-electronics-customer-engagements-validate-myrias-optics-all-inorganic-metaoptics-platform-302760751.html

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stc group unveils its vision for AI-native networks at Network X 2026

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — stc group, Saudi Arabia’s leading digital enabler, has released its AI Native Core Network White Paper during Network X 2026 outlining how it plans to evolve towards an AI-native telecom network by 2030. The paper explains how the group aims to embed AI directly into its network’s design and operations to support emerging digital services and improve reliability.

stc group continues to advance its network capabilities to support AI-driven applications and changing connectivity needs. The group is upgrading its core network, which manages user connections and delivers communications services. By integrating AI deeply into this infrastructure, stc group aims to help the network adapt to changing service requirements and resolve issues with less manual intervention.

The white paper highlights how advances in AI and 5G-Advanced, the next stage of 5G, are increasing network complexity. Services such as AI-enabled calling and immersive communications require faster, more responsive connectivity. AI agents, software systems that carry out tasks on users’ behalf, also need networks to coordinate communications and computing resources around each task.

To address these requirements, the paper sets out stc’s approach spanning AI-native infrastructure, network functions and autonomous operations. It details how the group plans to develop the infrastructure needed to run AI, embed intelligence within network functions and automate more operations. These capabilities would help the network allocate resources more efficiently and recover from faults faster, while allowing engineers to focus on service improvement and oversight.

The release of this whitepaper marks an important milestone in stc group’s network evolution, building a scalable foundation for future AI services, AI agents, intelligent interaction scenarios, and next-generation 5G-A and 6G applications. Building on its existing investments, the group aims to improve network reliability, support the next generation of digital services and accelerate the industry’s transition from Cloud Native to AI Native networks.

About stc group: 

stc group is a digital enabler, offering advanced solutions and driving a role in the digitalization process. The group provides a comprehensive suite of services encompassing digital infrastructure, cloud computing, cybersecurity, Internet of Things (IoT), digital payments, digital media, and digital entertainment. The group comprises 13 subsidiaries across The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. 

To know more about stc group: Click here  

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/stc-group-unveils-its-vision-for-ai-native-networks-at-network-x-2026-302912389.html

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Shoplazza Collaborates with TikTok to Bring Product Discovery Closer to Purchase

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The collaboration supports TikTok’s new agentic commerce experiences, with a focus on helping merchants turn customer interest into sales.

TORONTO, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Shoplazza, an AI-native commerce operating system, recently announced it is working with TikTok to support new agentic commerce shopping experiences. The collaboration reflects a shared focus on shortening the path from product discovery to purchase and helping merchants make more of the demand their content and advertising generate.

TikTok introduced Buy Direct and Shopping Assistant on October 5, naming Shoplazza among its commerce and payment partners. Buy Direct lets consumers buy directly from brands within TikTok, without being redirected to an external storefront. It uses Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) to connect with merchant systems, while brands remain the Merchant of Record.

Shopping Assistant answers product questions using merchant-supplied information on product pages within TikTok’s in-app browser. Shoppers can get the details they need before proceeding to checkout on the merchant’s website within the same browser.

For merchants, a shorter purchase journey can help protect the value of their customer acquisition spending. Redirects and repeated forms add friction just as a shopper is ready to buy. Losing that purchase means losing potential revenue after already paying to attract the customer.

“As platforms automate more decisions, performance increasingly depends on how well data, creative and checkout work together,” said Chao Xu, Director at Shoplazza. “TikTok’s new shopping experiences make it easier to buy while interest is fresh, helping merchants turn that interest into revenue and use each transaction to inform smarter marketing decisions.”

Shoplazza sees these developments as part of a broader convergence between advertising platforms and commerce infrastructure. From transaction data sharing and Instant Pages to Buy Direct, the opportunity is to help algorithms understand completed purchases more accurately while making it easier for shoppers to follow through.

The collaboration builds on an established relationship. Shoplazza’s merchant admin already supports catalog syncing, TikTok Pixel and Events API setup. In May, it was the sole winner of the TikTok Partner Innovation Award for Innovation in Marketing Technology – Commerce. In July, it joined the first group of TikTok for Business Agentic Hub partners, introducing AI Skills that connect store data and business insights with TikTok’s advertising intelligence.

About Shoplazza

Shoplazza is a global AI-native commerce operating system that enables brands to build, launch, and scale their online businesses. Built on an AI agent-native framework, Shoplazza integrates storefronts, marketing, payments, and operational workflows into a unified system designed to support scalable, long-term growth across global markets. Learn more at https://www.shoplazza.com/.

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Lexsoft Systems Partners With Clio to Bring Clio’s Legal AI Platform to Law Firms and Legal Departments Across EMEA

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Lexsoft will deliver Clio products, including Clio Work and Clio Manage, and integrate them into the systems its clients already use

LONDON and MADRID, Oct. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Lexsoft Systems, a provider of IT and business process solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with Clio, the global leader in legal AI. Through this EMEA-wide partnership, Lexsoft will deliver Clio’s platform to law firms and corporate legal departments, and integrate it with the other business-critical systems those clients run.

This agreement strengthens Lexsoft’s position as an independent legal solutions provider, and reinforces its growing presence in the UK and across Europe. It also supports the continued expansion of its carefully selected product portfolio of best-practice, global market-leading legal systems. 

Clio brings together the context of a firm’s work with trusted legal intelligence. Clio Work can draw on the matters, clients, documents, and other information already in Clio Manage, then ground that work in Clio’s global library of more than 1 billion legal documents to support research, analysis, and drafting. For Lexsoft’s global clients, that means AI designed for legal work that understands both the firm and the law.

“A practice management system is the originating point for most major legal processes — from document management and time recording through to security measures such as ethical walls,” says Carlos García-Egocheaga, CEO of Lexsoft Systems. “Until now, we’ve been reluctant to commit to a single partner, despite a wide choice of technologically robust and functionality-rich practice management systems on the market. But with the Clio platform, we’re offering customers more than practice management. Clio Manage takes practice management to a new level, from user experience to advanced functionality. Clio Work, Clio’s legal AI workspace, helps lawyers research, strategise and draft alongside Clio’s global library of legal documents. By integrating these capabilities into customers’ existing systems, we can deliver AI that works the way they do. We’re excited about the value this partnership enables us to deliver to our customers, large and small.”

The partnership lets Lexsoft build tailored environments around Clio, with deep integrations into the other systems its clients run. It helps firms across EMEA move beyond adoption of AI tools to deeper integration and a more fundamental transformation of how legal work gets done.

“Firms across Europe want AI in their daily work, and it only earns its place when it understands the context behind that work,” says Lisa Del Real, Vice President, Channel Partnerships at Clio. “Lexsoft has built its business on connecting the systems law firms and legal departments depend on. Through this partnership, Lexsoft’s clients can run Clio Manage and Clio Work on one shared foundation, so the context of each matter carries from the business of the firm into the legal work itself. They also get an implementation team that already knows how they work.”

Lexsoft is offering Clio’s products to law firms and corporate legal departments in EMEA immediately.

About Lexsoft Systems

Lexsoft provides IT and business process solutions to the legal sector across Europe, the United States, and Latin America. ISO 27017 and ISO 27001 certified, the company assists law firms and corporate legal departments (CLD) to improve their document management, knowledge management, practice management, and CRM processes, to facilitate business efficiency, improve productivity, and reduce risk. Lexsoft T3 is a proven knowledge management solution, offering one of the most comprehensive workflows for this business function. For more information, visit: www.lexsoft.com.

About Clio

Clio is the global leader in legal AI, empowering legal professionals and law firms of every size to work smarter, faster, and more securely. Purpose-built for the legal industry, Clio’s Intelligent Legal Work Platform streamlines workflows, improves decision-making, and combines powerful technology with industry-leading security. Trusted by hundreds of thousands of legal professionals in more than 130 countries, and approved by over 100 bar associations and law societies worldwide, Clio sets the standard for innovation and client success across the legal profession. Backed by world-class investors and a mission to transform the legal experience for all, Clio is defining the future of legal work through AI. Learn more at www.clio.com.

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