Sightful launches Spacetop augmented reality laptop

It’s time to meet Spacetop, an augmented reality (AR) laptop which the maker Sightful built over three years.

Created by a team of more than 60 spatial computing experts — including veterans from Apple, Microsoft, and Magic Leap — Spacetop represents the next generation in personal computing and the first application of AR that seamlessly fits into users’ daily lives, the company said.

With customized hardware and a proprietary spatial environment, Spacetop leverages AR to remove the physical constraints of standard laptops. The result is a first-of-its kind product that allows users to carry with them a big private, virtual workspace designed and customized by the user to be their most creative self, no matter where they are – all in a familiar laptop form factor. The company said it is like having a 100-inch laptop in your backpack.

“Two worlds sit at a crossroads: Laptops are the centerpiece of our daily working lives, but the technology has not evolved with the modern, work from anywhere, privacy matters, ‘road warrior’ mentality. Meanwhile, augmented reality is full of potential and promise, but is yet to find its daily use case,” said Tamir Berliner, CEO of Tel Aviv-based Sightful, in a statement. “We are at the perfect moment for a significant paradigm shift in a device we all know and love, and Spacetop Early Access is the first step in that journey.”

Designed specifically for the “work from anywhere” movement, Spacetop takes full advantage of AR to transform the world around users into a portable home office. With a more than 100-inch virtual canvas, Spacetop users design their perfect working environment – uncluttered and organized in the exact way that helps them focus and do their best work.

Unconstrained by 13-inch to 16-inch screens that lead to endless tabs, buried applications, and constant window switching, Spacetop users are able to focus, with their key applications visible and accessible at any moment, all overlaid on the real world, while users still remain present in the real world.

The result is an experience that delivers:

• Intuitive Augmented Reality: Spacetop operates seamlessly and intuitively as a laptop. Users enjoy a familiar but dramatically expanded experience in AR with no complicated gesture controls to learn, and no external hardware or software awkwardly integrated with non-AR devices.
• Limitless Digital Workspace: Spacetop users carry a multi-monitor setup as large as their work requires, whether sitting on a couch in their home, working over breakfast at a local cafe, or squeezed into an airplane seat on a cross-country flight.
• Privacy by Design: The Spacetop work environment, called the Canvas, and the user’s work, are completely invisible to those who are not using the device. No more wandering eyes from nosy neighbors, no more privacy screen filters.

As a company, Sightful has raised $61 million in funding to date, from global investors including Aleph, Corner Ventures, and more.

“To date, every other company’s approach to Augmented Reality has, ironically, been completely removed from reality,” said Eden Shochat, equal partner at Aleph, in a statement. “Sightful focused on an immediate utility which advances human productivity, a personal passion of mine; rather than trying to convince the world that we need to live in a metaverse or create an entirely new way of working, they focused on building a product people can use now. This is the right approach, at the right moment, with the right team charting a new path for an everyday device, similar to the iPhone or Roadster before them.”

Spacetop hardware brings together two of the largest names in both personal computing and AR in Wistron and NReal. Combining customized NReal glasses with the proprietary Spacetop environment, users access all of their important web applications on clear, high-resolution augmented reality windows overlaid onto the real world. Whether on a Zoom call, working in Google Docs, reviewing a Figma design, or browsing the web, the Spacetop environment feels tangible and immersive while still allowing users to naturally interact with people around them.

Partnering with Wistron brings the experience and scale of one of the world’s top laptop hardware manufacturers to Sightful’s mission. Wistron is a global leading technology service provider supplying ICT (information and communication technology) products, along with a robust R&D infrastructure and deep experience in product development, all of which have been crucial to the development of Spacetop.

“Spacetop is the bridge between ‘reality’ and augmented reality, combining the utility and versatility of a laptop with the magic of painting information on the world around us,” said Marvin Tien, a partner at Corner Ventures, in a statement. “Corner is committed to leveraging all its connections across Asia Pacific, Europe, and anywhere else in the world where our network may reach to help align the Sightful team with the right leaders across spatial computing, personal computing, and product innovation.”

The Spacetop Early Access program is now open with 1,000 early adopters invited to join. Those interested in being the first to receive their Spacetop can apply at www.sightful.com.

The company was founded in 2020. Berliner, cofounder of PrimeSense, started the company with Tomer Kahan, COO, an early executive at Magic Leap.