Magic Leap has been successful in keeping a lot of its technology under wraps — the augmented and virtual reality technology company has yet to release a product — but its fundraising has been an open secret. And today it is finally being confirmed: the startup announced that it has raised $793.5 million in a Series C round of funding, at a valuation that a spokesperson tells us was $3.7 billion pre-money, and $4.5 billion post-mney. The investment was led by Alibaba with participation also from existing investors Google and Qualcomm Ventures, as well as new investors Warner Bros, Fidelity, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, T. Rowe Price and Wellington Management Co.
“Here at Magic Leap we are creating a new world where digital and physical realities seamlessly blend together to enable amazing new experiences. This investment will accelerate bringing our new Mixed Reality LightfieldTM experience to everyone,” said Rony Abovitz, Founder, President, and CEO of Magic Leap, Inc. in a statement. “We are excited to welcome Alibaba as a strategic partner to help introduce Magic Leap’s breakthrough products to the over 400 million people on Alibaba’s platforms.”
As part of the round, Alibaba’s Joe Tsai will join Magic Leap’s board.
“We invest in forward-thinking, innovative companies like Magic Leap that are developing leading products and technologies,” said Joe Tsai, Executive Vice Chairman at Alibaba. “We believe Alibaba can both provide support to and learn from such a partner, and we look forward to working with the Magic Leap team.”
Other investors in the company include Legendary Entertainment, KKR, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Andreessen Horowitz, Obvious Ventures, and others. Prior to this round, Magic Leap had raised $592 million.
More to come.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3HIWyLWDTpc/
