Home About Kopin Our Company

Company History

Our History

A Legacy of Innovation

For more than 35 years, Kopin has been on the forefront of pioneering technology that has changed the way people experience the world.

From heterojunction bipolar transistors that power every smartphone today to advanced helmet-mounted displays that enable F-35 pilots to own the skies, Kopin has been developing groundbreaking display, wearable, imaging, and AR/VR innovations that have revolutionized industries since its founding. With over 200 patents, 35 million commercial displays shipped, and 300,000 fielded defense displays, we continue to invent and deliver cutting-edge systems that create vision beyond imagination to maximize human performance.

We remain ever-focused on the vision that has guided us from the beginning: to be a company where imagination and experimentation spark invention, and invention ignites innovation.
Michael Murray, CEO

Decades of Innovation

1985

Kopin is founded by Dr. John C.C. Fan and spun out of MIT.

A blue, square monocrystalline solar cell with clipped corners and a grid of thin white electrical contact lines.

1986

Kopin develops thin film gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cells for space applications with world-record >30% AM0 efficiency.

1990

Kopin receives $50 million dollar DARPA contract to develop microdisplays using our proprietary wafer lift-off technology. Our technology turns an IC chip into a microdisplay.

1991

Kopin announces plans for initial public offering.

1995

Kopin helps usher in the wireless revolution when it develops a heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT), which is still the fundamental building block used to send signals in wireless devices today.

1997

CyberDisplay, the world’s smallest, high-performance, high-res display, is designed as an electronic viewfinder and enables cameras and video recorders to fit in the palm of your hand.

2003

Kopin unveils the VGA microdisplay (0.44” diagonal), the smallest of its kind at the time.

A thermal riflescope with a black finish, positioned horizontally against a plain white background.

2004

Kopin makes good on DARPA’s 1990 investment by delivering displays and optical modules for U.S. Army weapon sight programs and Air Force pilot helmets.

2009

Kopin unveils a reference design of a complete head-worn computer with hands-free, voice- and gesture-activated control.

2011

Kopin acquires Forth Dimension Displays, a leader in FLCoS display technology used in spatial light modulators.

2013

Kopin receives order for F-35 Pilot Helmet Displays, meeting high brightness and reliability requirements for all operational conditions.

2013-2014

The Augmented Reality (AR) market begins and Google Glass debuts, enabled by Kopin microdisplays.

2015

Kopin launches SOLOS smart glasses for athletes which focus on performance, style, and comfort, demonstrating that AR systems do not need to be large clunky helmets but can be fashionable eyewear.

2017

Kopin acquires NVIS, a leader in training and simulation technology.

An OLED microdisplay by Kopin Corporation, showing a vibrant, high-resolution image of the Shwedagon Pagoda (a golden temple in Myanmar).

2017-2018

Kopin develops proprietary Lightning OLED backplanes, which allow for tandem OLED displays for greater brightness, and Golden-I Infinity, a tethered device which allows for a smaller, lighter, head-worn device.

2019

Kopin commences development of ultrabright microLED display technology for the future of AR products.

2021

Kopin commences development of wearable medical-grade head-worn systems for surgeons.

The M1A2 Abrams Tank, like the one pictured here on a training exercise at the National Training Center Fort Irwin, California, was one of the weapons platforms discussed during the Michigan Defense Expo May 20. It is one of the systems that has parts that Tank-automotive and Armaments Command is seeking industry assistance to alleviate obsolescence issues.

2022

Kopin develops LcoS displays, which provide the performance necessary to allow for the transition from legacy display systems used by the US DoD to digital technology.

Vision for the Future

Kopin is focused on developing human-centric, application-specific optical solutions that maximize performance in the most critical situations.

Read Our Latest News See Our Products in Action

surgeon wearing CR3 medical wearable monitor