RealWear rakes in $17M in investment

Vancouver company RealWear bills its technology as a game-changer. Now it has found investors who apparently agree.

A Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday shows RealWear landed $17 million in investment at the end of January and is seeking an additional $3 million. The filing was first reported by The Oregonian.

The cash infusion will help RealWear get its product — a head-worn computer that connects workers in the field with people and the internet — into the hands of more companies. CEO Andy Lowery said they have pilot projects with marquee companies like Tesla, Walmart, Amazon and Boeing.

“I can say everything is going really, really well,” he said.

One of the new investors is Columbia Ventures Corporation, which is also based in Vancouver. Columbia Ventures invested $8 million, according to Chief Financial Officer Susan Cruz.

“It’s a very new and unique technology that we think may have very wide application,” she said. “There’s been a very solid reception from large industrial companies, in particular that are very enthusiastic about using the RealWear tablet.”

Cruz said investing in the product — called the HMT-1 — is somewhat new for the firm. Its portfolio mainly consists of telecommunications services; but it also recently made headlines for investing $32.5 million in an experimental pulp mill in Dayton.

RealWear was headquartered in Milpitas, Calif., but moved last summer to the refurbished Fort Vancouver Artillery Barracks. It has 70 employees total, including 20 in the barracks. Plans are to grow to 100 employees by the end of the year.