Date: February 7, 2022
Today, we are announcing that Lightform is discontinuing all hardware production runs indefinitely and winding down. We will continue to provide cloud services & support through August 2022. Customers should update to the latest software and firmware before this date.
Lightform was founded because we saw projection mapping as a transformational technology to change the way we interact with digital content and the everyday objects around us. At the time, it was expensive and time-consuming to create custom content and to deploy projection mapping. We sought to simplify projection mapping by providing a scan of the real world, using generative content on top of the scan to easily make compelling custom content, and then easily deploying via all-in-one hardware.
We’ve shipped two generations of Lightform products, and three years of Creator software updates. We’ve greatly improved the user experience and added stock video integration, automatic alignment with computer vision, and sound-reactive visuals. We’ve watched the Lightform community grow to create some truly amazing experiences with light. It has been phenomenal to see people start businesses using Lightform, to see Lightform used in television commercials, for making music videos, and to bring projection mapping into art galleries, businesses, homes, retail spaces, classrooms and events.
For the past two years, the team has been working on our next products, which we think are the future of projection. Then COVID-19 changed everything. The events, hospitality, and location-based entertainment industries froze. We, along with our customers, held our breath, and then changed plans. We launched LF2+ and focused on in-home projection mapping. As COVID dragged on, cutting costs wasn’t enough. We simply needed more funding to maintain existing supply chains and to launch our new products. At the same time, investors shifted their focus to businesses that were positively affected by the embrace of WFH and digital only experiences.
Lightform is a grand experiment, exploring what happens when scanning and generative animations are combined with all-in-one hardware for content creation, previewing, and playback. We are incredibly proud of what the team and community has created over the past few years. We are starting to see projectors with integrated cameras and scanning, and we believe the core ideas of Lightform will spread through the entire projector ecosystem. While Lightform will no longer operate, the team is working to add value to our vibrant community.
Thank you for being a part of the Lightform journey. We still can’t wait to see what you create.
~ The Lightform Team
For more information on the transition, visit our FAQ.