Any Distance is a technology company.
Any Distance has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
Any Distance has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Any Distance has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Any Distance's investors include Alumni Ventures, EVE Atlas, Far Out Ventures, Overline VC, Shorewind Capital, Space Capital, Dylan Taylor.
Distance Technologies is a Finnish deep-tech startup pioneering the world's first true glasses-free mixed reality (XR) solution using AI-driven optics, computer vision, and lightfield technology.[1][3][5] It targets automotive, aerospace, and defense sectors, transforming transparent surfaces like windshields, cockpits, or helmets into immersive 3D displays that fuse real-world views with synthetic data for enhanced situational awareness, safety, and decision-making.[1][3][5] The company serves manufacturers, integrators, and operators in high-stakes environments, solving the problem of bulky headsets by enabling seamless XR integration without glasses, while offering an open ecosystem for applications like sensor fusion in tactical scenarios.[1][3]
Launched from stealth in 2024, Distance has raised $2.7M in an oversubscribed pre-seed round from investors including FOV Ventures, Maki.VC, and Foobar, followed by a €10M round led by undisclosed backers, fueling rapid development and private demos at events like Augmented World Expo 2024.[1][8] Growth momentum includes partnerships, such as with Basemark for next-gen AR-HUD solutions, positioning it for industrial-scale deployment.[5]
Distance Technologies was co-founded by Joonas Itäranta and Thomas M. Carlsson, both former Varjo executives with over 25 years each in tech.[1][3] Itäranta, with experience at Nokia, Microsoft, Suunto, and Remedy Entertainment (focusing on game engines), leads software development and operations.[1] Carlsson, known for optical tracking in Formula 1, Premier League, and VR/XR at Varjo, drives hardware innovation, patenting, and tracking solutions.[1]
The idea emerged from their Varjo backgrounds, addressing XR limitations in real-world applications by creating glasses-free tech for contextual AI.[1][9] Pivotal moments include exiting stealth in 2024 with $2.7M funding and private demos, followed by a €10M raise in 2025 to scale for defense, automotive, and aerospace.[1][8] This evolution reflects a shift from headset-bound VR to embedded, infinite-depth XR for mission-critical use.[3][5]
Distance rides the wave of contextual AI and dual-use deep tech, merging XR with multispectral sensors amid rising demand for augmented perception in autonomous vehicles, urban air mobility, and defense amid geopolitical tensions.[3][5][8] Timing aligns with automotive HUD evolution (from 2D to AR) and aerospace electrification, where glasses-free solutions reduce pilot burden and enhance safety—market forces like regulatory pushes for advanced driver aids and defense budgets favor embeddable tech over wearables.[3][5]
It influences the ecosystem by open-sourcing XR for integrators, accelerating adoption in Europe as a "counterpart to new-wave defense platforms," and partnering with AR leaders like Basemark to standardize high-performance rendering in mission-critical apps.[1][5][8] This positions Finland as an XR hub, challenging U.S./Asian dominance in industrial XR.
Distance Technologies is primed for explosive growth, with €10M fueling production prototypes and OEM pilots in 2026, targeting windshield HUDs and helmet visors.[8] Trends like AI-sensor fusion and glasses-free AR will propel it, especially as defense spending surges and automotive OEMs seek differentiators amid EV slowdowns. Its influence may evolve into a platform leader, licensing tech to incumbents and spawning a developer ecosystem around lightfield XR—ultimately redefining how humans perceive dynamic environments without added hardware. This glasses-free breakthrough, born from Varjo alumni, closes the gap between synthetic and real worlds at industrial scale.[1][3][8]
Any Distance has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in September 2022.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2022 | $2.0M Seed | Alumni Ventures, EVE Atlas, Far Out Ventures, Overline VC, Shorewind Capital, Space Capital, Dylan Taylor |