German Deeptech Startup Gixel Secures €5M In Pre-Seed Round

As tech giants push to bring AI-powered eyewear to market, the biggest challenge remains: building ultra-light, energy-efficient, high-quality see-through displays. Gixel solves this with a modular display architecture designed for today’s AI glasses and scalable for future full-lens AR experiences.

Gixel’s displays offer smartphone-level clarity, excellent transparency when off, and low-weight, low-heat performance. Built for mass production, the tech supports curved lenses, adjustable focal planes, and customizable fields of view—giving hardware makers the flexibility to create sleek, immersive eyewear.

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Founded in 2019 by Fraunhofer optics experts Dr.-Ing. Miro Taphanel and Dr.-Ing. Ding Luo, along with entrepreneur Felix Nienstaedt, Gixel began developing AR displays in 2021. Since then, the company has built a top-tier team of 15 global experts in display physics, nano-optics, systems engineering, and precision manufacturing.

We’re not just solving display challenges—we’re making the breakthrough that finally makes wearable AI and AR real, said Felix Nienstaedt, co-founder and CEO of Gixel.

The oversubscribed funding round was led by Oculus VR co-founder Brendan Iribe, Ted Schilowitz (former Chief Futurist at 20th Century Fox and Paramount, and founding member of RED Digital Cinema), FlixBus founders Jochen Engert, Daniel Kraus, and André Schwämmlein, Germany’s SPRIND, and VC firm LEA Partners.

Ted Schilowitz, former Chief Futurist at 20th Century Fox and Paramount, and a founding team member of RED Digital Cinema, shared his thoughts:

As a Futurist at two major movie studios, I’ve seen countless wearable display concepts. Gixel’s team and approach stand out for their real advances in resolution, form factor, and usability—they’re the ones to watch.

Gixel is currently developing a fully functional prototype and preparing developer kits for pilot collaborations.

The company plans to raise a Series A round next year to scale up manufacturing and meet growing industry demand.

About Gixel

Gixel is creating high-quality, power-efficient displays for AI glasses with smartphone-level visuals in a compact, wearable form. Unlike waveguides, its proprietary tech supports all-day use and future AR applications. Based in Germany, Gixel is backed by leading deeptech investors and is shaping the future of AI and spatial computing.