North, formerly Thalmic Labs, launches Focals, a lightweight pair of smartglasses

North

• Thalmic Labs has changed its name to North and is launching a pair of smartglasses called Focals.
• North has raised $130 million to launch its smartglasses, with investors including Amazon, Intel, and top-tier venture capitalists.
• They cost $1000 and require a custom fitting in Toronto or Brooklyn. 

There’s a vision of the future in Silicon Valley that one day, highly advanced glasses will be able to provide useful information inside their lenses.

Instead of looking at your phone, these glasses will be able to display useful information like notifications, directions, and reminders inside their lenses.

Google took a stab at these kind of heads-up glasses back in 2013 with Google Glass but faced a difficult reception among consumers. Now an Amazon-backed startup out of Waterloo, Canada is releasing its attempt at smart glasses using modern technologies.

The new glasses are made by North, which used to be known as Thalmic Labs. North has raised $135 million in fudning from investors including Amazon Alexa Fund, Fidelity Investments, and First Round Capital, according to PitchBook Data.

They’ve used that money to make a pair of smartglasses, called Focals, that focus more on style and user experience than technology. 

The company wants to make clear that Focals aren’t a full augmented reality headset, like Magic Leap One or Microsoft Hololens. Instead, they like to call them glasses that people can wear every day. 

“We’re not focused on unicorns jumping over rainbows or monsters coming out of the wall.” Thalmic Labs CEO Stephen Lake told Business Insider. “It’s about having a product that’s going to be useful for you throughout the day all day.”

“Throughout the day, it’s wearable, it’s comfortable, and give valuable bits of information that make sense at the time,” he continued. 

Here’s what Focals do: