Overview
Lytro developed cameras that captured information about the direction of light, allowing a viewer to change an image's focus after it was taken. Founded by Ren Ng as Refocus Imaging, the company released consumer cameras before shifting to professional cinema and virtual reality. In March 2018 it announced a wind-down. Google confirmed that some employees were joining it, while saying it was not acquiring the company.[1][2]
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Founding Story
Ng's research into light-field photography led to Refocus Imaging, founded in 2006 and later renamed Lytro. The company sought to turn a research technique into a camera people could use. Its first model appeared in 2012, with an unusual rectangular shape and a starting price of $399.[3][4]
Timeline
- 2006: Ng founded the business as Refocus Imaging.
- 2012: The first consumer light-field camera reached buyers.
- 2014: The company introduced the Illum, aimed at professional and serious amateur photographers.
- 2016: Lytro confirmed its exit from consumer camera development and focus on virtual reality.
- 2017: It raised $60 million and closed its consumer image-sharing service.
- 2018: The company announced its wind-down.[2][3][5][6][7][8]
What They Built
A conventional camera records an image focused at a selected distance. Lytro placed a microlens array in front of its sensor to capture directional information as well. Its software could use that information to render different focus points after capture. The extra information came with a trade-off: DPReview's test described the original camera's conventional output as about 1.2 megapixels, low compared with ordinary cameras of the time.[1]
The Illum, announced in 2014 at $1,599, sought a more demanding audience. Later products included Immerge, for virtual-reality capture, and Cinema, for professional production. These products addressed different buyers and workflows from the original consumer camera.[5][7]
Market Position
Target Customers
Consumer photographers initially, then professional cinema and virtual-reality producers.
Market Size
The sources reviewed do not establish a reliable addressable market estimate for this company.
Competition
Lytro offered a distinctive editing capability, but customers compared its cameras with established devices and increasingly capable phone cameras. In 2016 CEO Jason Rosenthal said the company lacked the resources to improve consumer cameras and pursue virtual reality at the same time. His account presents the pivot as a resource decision, not evidence that the new market was already proven.[6]
Business Model
The consumer products were sold as cameras, while Lytro's later business targeted professional production and related services. In 2017 VentureBeat reported that Immerge was production ready and being used on projects. It did not disclose customer revenue or production costs.[7]
Traction
In February 2017 Lytro raised $60 million led by Blue Pool Capital, with existing investors including Andreessen Horowitz participating. VentureBeat reported more than $210 million raised to that point. The investment supported expansion plans; it is not a measure of customer demand or profitability.[7]
Post-Mortem
Operating constraints and outcome
In December 2017 Lytro ended its online platform for sharing interactive consumer images. Users could still work with their files using desktop software, but existing interactive embeds stopped working. That change shows how a hardware product also depended on a continuing service.[8]
Lytro said in March 2018 that it would stop accepting new productions and services while it wound down. Earlier reporting described a possible Google asset deal, but Google's subsequent confirmation covered hiring some staff and explicitly said it was not acquiring the company. A film-industry technical report later stated that Google purchased patents and other assets; that does not establish a whole-company acquisition or a transaction price.[2][9]
Key Lessons
- New capability has a cost. The original camera traded image resolution for the ability to change focus after capture.
- A pivot changes customers. Moving from consumer cameras to professional production required a new sales and operating model.
- Support is part of the product. Closing Lytro’s sharing service broke interactive embeds after customers had purchased cameras.
Sources
- Lytro Light Field Camera review, DPReview, 2012.
- Lytro is shutting down, TechCrunch, 2018.
- Sources: Google and Lytro, TechCrunch, 2018.
- Lytro review, Reviewed, 2012.
- Lytro Illum announcement, Time, 2014.
- CEO confirms exit from consumer imaging, DPReview, 2016.
- Lytro raises $60 million, VentureBeat, 2017.
- Lytro closes online sharing platform, DPReview, 2017.
- SMPTE progress report, 2018.
Image: D-Kuru/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT; unmodified.