UK-based augmented reality (AR) technology developer Blippar has completed a $37m series E round co-led by Qualcomm Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile semiconductor technology producer Qualcomm, TechCrunch has reported.
The round was co-led by Candy Ventures, the venture capital vehicle for property investor Nick Candy. It increased Blippar’s overall funding to about $137m since it was founded in 2011.
Blippar has created AR tools for app developers along with a computer vision engine that can be integrated into applications to enable camera lenses to identify cars, faces or objects captured in their field of view.
However, like many AR technology developers, the company has found it difficult to turn its technology into profits, and closed offices in Japan, the Netherlands and Turkey in 2017.
Qualcomm Ventures invested an undisclosed sum in Blippar in 2012, three years before the company raised $45m in series C funding from undisclosed backers. Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional led its $54m series D round in early 2016.