REHOVOT, Israel—Flō, a privately-held Israeli start-up, has signed an exclusive license agreement with Yeda Research and Development Co., Ltd. regarding the use of Weizmann Advanced Materials used for optical coatings to be applied via Flō’s proprietary additive manufacturing (AM) technology, also known as 3D printing. Yeda is the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Flō’s CEO and chairman Jonathan Jaglom said in a statement, “We are humbled by this partnership. The Institute’s vast know-how regarding advanced materials in optics, coupled with its amazing academic talent, gives us unprecedented access to innovation resources.

"We have the advanced technology, staff and the right partnerships in place—a recipe for success,” Jaglom said.

Jaglom is a veteran executive who has held various management positions in the 3D printing industry. He began his career at Objet before taking senior roles at Stratasys and eventually leading Makerbot. He is connected to the same investor group that originally backed Objet.

According to Flō, a digital process using its technology offers “vast improvements in optical coatings regarding functionality, cost, quality, sustainability and more. The ability to control the coating process down to the level of micro-sized pixels opens a wide new range of design possibilities.”

The collaboration between Flō and Yeda comes at a moment when additive manufacturing is increasingly being used to produce optical products. Companies such as Materialise and ClearVision currently offer 3D-printed frames. Last December, Meta acquired Luxexcel, a Netherlands-based company that can 3D-print lenses for augmented reality glasses.

Flō will preview its coating technology, which is still under development, later this month at Vision Expo West.