INTRO Here's my semi-annual exercise to see if I remember why I own the stocks I own, and so I can check back and see if their stories have changed. I post in case it helps others too.

MicroVision

MVIS (market cap is $0.390B was $0.634B)

Oh, MicroVision; will it be yet again another 6-9 months, or 9-18 months, or longer? Well, it hasn't been any of the previous hoped-for periods for the last twenty years - though there was that time of flirting with hope about a year or so again.

MicroVision is an electronic component designer and manufacturer developing a wide series of applications based on a chip equipped with an oscillating mirror. Shine light on the chip in one direction and it can display an image. Shine it the other way and the chip becomes a sensor. Expand the spectrum and it can send or detect or both send and direct radar images, and probably even more applications.

The easiest application to understand is their ability to create a projector that fits inside a smartphone. There's no limit to the always-in-focus image, though light fall-off happens as the size of the image increases. While such devices have entered the market, none have been successful enough to generate significant income. Recent optimism came from Microsoft's the US Army's use of the chips to generate Augmented Reality images. Microsoft's Hololens allows interactivity with the image, including allow others to interact with other. The Army's application allowed soldiers to see more of what was around them, particularly useful was being able to see outside a tank or through a wall - as long as there were cameras to feed them the image. This may be too early or too little. The remaining large and obvious effort is to develop LiDAR units for autonomous cars or for home security systems.

As stated above, MicroVision has had reason for optimism every year for the last twenty years. Many technical hurdles seem to be cleared. Many products have now been tested in various markets, with other products ready to advance. An optimist can find more than enough to be encouraged. A pessimist can say that they've never succeeded before so they may never do so. MicroVision, and hence MVIS, are largely driven by sentiment rather than by financial reports. Great promise. Great risk (so far).

Maybe within the next 6-9 months, or 9-18 months, or longer?

For even more details, follow my blog's tags for MicroVision and MVIS, which reach back a decade.

https://trimbathcreative.net/tag/microvision/

https://trimbathcreative.net/tag/mvis/

DISCLOSURE LTBH since 1999 (though the very first shares are gone). Dilution no longer means that I have more than enough if the company finally succeeds and the stock reaches the heights I think are possible. I doubt I'll buy more because of the rest of my financial situation, and intend to hold until much higher price targets are reached.