28 Dec 2022

Tekcapital Plc

("Tekcapital", the "Company" or the "Group")

Innovative Eyewear, Inc. Provides Year-end Review

Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK, OTCQB: TEKCF), the UK intellectual property investment group notes that Innovative Eyewear, Inc. ("Innovative Eyewear") (NASDAQ: LUCY; LUCYW), a developer and retailer of cutting-edge smart eyewear and operator of the Lucyd® and Nautica® brands for smartglasses, announced on 27 December 2022 a summary of its activities in 2022 including innovations in R&D, new business partnerships, and significant team expansion. The Company believes these developments have furthered its goal of building the global standard in smart eyewear.

Set out below is a copy of Innovative Eyewear's announcement and to view a video of CEO Harrison Gross explaining these developments, please click here.

Product Launches & Tech Development

In 2022 Innovative Eyewear completed development on the following products:

1.   Digital Try-on Display. A Lucyd-branded digital retail fixture that provides a virtual try-on experience to in-store clients at our partner retail stores. The proprietary software that operates the kiosk was designed and created in house and performs as smoothly as leading VTO (virtual try-on) applications developed by companies that focus solely on this software vertical. The Company is able to remotely update the Displays with new brand content and glasses styles, and the tablet can also be scanned to download the Company's Vyrb mobile app, making it a comprehensive Lucyd brand experience in all deployed locations. Launched early in 2022.

2.   Cordless Charging Dock. This patent-pending accessory was developed in house, launched in 2022 and is a first in the smartglass space. It allows the customer to charge their Lucyd glasses simply by dropping them on their nightstand. The Dock includes three additional USB ports to enable the user to charge their phone, smartwatch, tablet and smartglasses simultaneously with one device.

3.   2022 Frame Collection. In 2022 we introduced four new models of our flagship product, including our Lucyd Lyte Jupiter model, which is leading the industry in terms of product weight. Weight is a proxy for comfort when it comes to eyewear, and the Jupiter model weighs just 28 grams, which is tied for the lightest smart eyewear on the market. Central to the luxurious look and feel of this new collection was the design and creation of new proprietary hinges that enable a more seamless appearance to the frames, which are being rolled out across all models. The launch of this collection also brought the number of Lucyd frame varieties to 16 total, which makes the Company's offering the most diverse in the space. 

4.   The Company is pleased to announce it has completed initial production of its second generation product, Lucyd Lyte 2.0, slated to launch in Q1 2023. The Lyte 2.0 carries several new features including high-end styling from the Company's new design team, a four-speaker array for immersive audio, and the longest playback time of any smart eyewear device, with 12 hours of music playback and talk time per charge. The battery life of the Lyte 2.0 surpasses the vast majority of true wireless audio devices in any form factor.

5.   The Company has completed the development of a live streaming feature to its Vyrb social application for iOS and Android, which brings live audio chatrooms to the beta app. This will enable Lucyd glasses wearers to create and enjoy live audio events right on their smart eyewear, and this utility is also useful for real-time team communications. 

6.   The Company had six US design patents and one US software utility patent granted in 2022, as well as one Chinese patent granted, to protect its eyewear designs and software utilities. The Company has also filed new patents in 2022 in the US, Canada and/or China to protect its recently released Lucyd Dock and several pending products. The Company's total number of pending and issued patents now stands at 47.

Partnerships

1.   In late 2022, Innovative Eyewear acquired a multi-year, global license to the Nautica brand for smart eyewear and related accessories. Along side the transaction, the owner of the Nautica brand, Authentic Brands Group, is assisting the Company with introductions to Nautica.com, independent Nautica store operators and buyers, and the Sports Illustrated online store. The Company has finished designing a dozen styles for an initial line of Nautica Smart Eyewear and expects to launch the line in H1 2023.

2.   Lucyd products began to be carried on the Dick's Sporting Goods (DSG) main website in March 2022, as a trial for consideration for an in-store presence. DSG is the largest sporting goods retailer in the US with 800+ stores.

3.   Lucyd products began to be carried on Academy Sports + Outdoor's mainsite, the second largest sporting goods retailer in the US with 260+ locations.

4.   Lucyd partnered with Everest.com, a new sporting goods marketplace, to offer Lucyd Lyte glasses to their rapidly growing customer base.

5.   In 2022, the Company grew its retail presence to 250+ locations carrying Lucyd Lyte in-store.

6.   The Company conducted a successful research project to identify two additional manufacturing partners to provide supply chain redundancy for its smart eyewear.

Team Expansion

1.   The Company hired Joaquin Abondano as VP Ecommerce and Product Sourcing. Joaquin is a very experienced digital marketer and product developer who has launched a significant number of products on digital marketplaces that have generated substantial direct to consumer sales. His expert level knowledge of Amazon systems is expected to improve the company's direct to consumer brand awareness and advertising ROI.

2.   The Company also hired Jan Cory as VP optical sales. Her background with over a decade of experience building Luxottica's US business makes her an excellent fit for growing the retail presence of Lucyd products in the optical channel.

3.   Furthermore, the Company hired two leading eyewear designers in 2022. One comes from a leading global sunglass brand, bringing their heritage of classic and timeless sunglass design to the team. The other designer has a background designing eyewear for some of the world's leading fashion brands, bringing high fashion experience to the team. 

The Year Ahead

There have been many significant developments and product improvements in 2022, and we believe the coming year will bring many more key advancements for the Company, with the following products anticipated to go live in 2023:

1.   The launch of the second generation Lucyd Lyte 2.0 product line with improved sound, battery and styling. Lyte 2.0 will be launched initially in 15 sunglass and 6 blue light styles. This launch includes several styles of smart eyewear designed specifically for women and youth, a key differentiator from other smart eyewear collections.

2.   The launch of Nautica Powered by Lucyd smart eyewear and introduction into many Nautica points of sale around the world, kicking off what the Company expects to be a powerful combination of its user-friendly Bluetooth technology with iconic fashion brands.

3.   The introduction of the Lucyd Bluetooth temple into new eyewear verticals such as sport wrap frames and rimless frames, which are minimal or non-existent on the market.

4.   The full commercial release of the Vyrb social audio application and the addition of in-app purchases, content monetization and creator tools to the app.

5.   An updated website with a vastly improved prescription ordering process to make it easier to purchase Rx-upgraded Lucyd products.

6.   A dedicated wholesale website for the Company's retail partners to be able to conveniently learn about and stock Lucyd products.

In sum, these developments and forecasted releases position the Company well to achieve its mission to Upgrade Your Eyewear® in 2023.

About Innovative Eyewear, Inc.

Innovative Eyewear is a developer and retailer of cutting-edge smart eyewear, under the Lucyd® and Nautica® brands. True to our mission to Upgrade Your Eyewear®, our Bluetooth audio glasses allow users to stay safely and ergonomically connected to their digital lives, and are offered in hundreds of frame and lens combinations to meet the needs of the optical market. To learn more and explore our continuously evolving collection of smart eyewear, please visit www.lucyd.co.

Tekcapital currently owns 5,189,086 shares (approximately 71%) of Innovative Eyewear, Inc.  

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About Tekcapital plc

Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed discoveries that can enhance people's lives and provides a range of technology transfer services to help organisations evaluate and commercialise new technologies. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com.

LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release is for informational purposes only. The information herein does not constitute investment advice nor an offer to invest and may contain statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Innovative Eyewear, Inc., Lucyd or Tekcapital that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to," "anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, in material delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press releases. In addition, our representatives may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements may be based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Tekcapital or Lucyd's management. Please note that these are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not limited to those described in various disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of Innovative Eyewear Inc., Lucyd and/or Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. Other than as required by relevant regulation or law,  neither Innovative Eyewear Inc, Lucyd nor Tekcapital intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.