Magic Leap, a US-based augmented reality (AR) technology developer backed by corporates including e-commerce group Alibaba, is looking to raise more than $500m in series D funding, Bloomberg reported today.
The round is expected to feature Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek, and Magic Leap is seeking a valuation of close to $6bn.
Founded in 2011, Magic Leap is working on AR technology that projects patterns of light directly on to a user’s eye in order to superimpose virtual objects onto the physical environment.
The approach prevents nausea that some users might experience with other devices, according to the company, by emulating the way eyes naturally perceive the physical world.
Magic Leap has largely remained in stealth mode and has not publicly explained how exactly its headset works or when it is expected to enter the market. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg the glasses would require a separate puck-shaped, smartphone-sized device to process data.
The same sources also said the headset, which is expected to be smaller than rival products such as internet company Facebook’s Oculus Rift, will cost between $1,500 and $2,000 and will launch within the next six months.
Magic Leap closed a $794m series C round led by Alibaba in February 2016 at a $4.5bn valuation, with participation from internet technology provider Google, mobile chipmaker Qualcomm’s investment arm Qualcomm Ventures, film studio Legendary Entertainment and media group Warner Bros.
Fidelity Management and Research, KKR, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Andreessen Horowitz, Obvious Ventures, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Wellington Management and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates also backed the series C round.
Google led Magic Leap’s $542m series B round in October 2014 with support from Qualcomm Ventures, Legendary Entertainment, KPCB, Andreessen Horowitz, KKR, Vulcan Capital and Obvious Ventures. The company had raised $50m in series A capital from unnamed investors in February 2014.