Asian GPs back $502m round for US-based Magic Leap
Singapore-based EDBI and Temasek Holdings have joined a $502 million Series D funding round for US virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology provider Magic Leap.
Brazil’s Grupo Globo and UK-based Janus Henderson Investors also participated alongside existing backers Alibaba Group, Google, Fidelity Management & Research, J.P. Morgan Investment Management and T Rowe Price. The capital is intended to help the company catalyze VR and AR development in Singapore.
It follows a $793.5 million Series C round last year led by Alibaba. Previous investors also include KKR, Vulcan Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Obvious Ventures, Wellington Management, Warner Bros Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, Andreessen Horowitz, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
According to a filing by CB Insights, Magic Leap shares increased in value from about $23 to $27 apiece between the Series C and D rounds. Bloomberg has estimated that the latest investment brings the company’s valuation to about $6 billion.
Magic Leap is developing a VR and AR-enabled computing platform with an operational interface that aims to seamlessly integrate into the user’s physical surroundings. The company has not yet launched a product and attracted criticism late last year after a report by The Information claimed it had released a misleading technology demonstration.
Earlier this year, Tannen Campbell, a former vice president at Magic Leap, settled a lawsuit against the company alleging that it promoted a misogynistic work environment and used misleading marketing materials.
VR and AR are understood to have made significant technical progress in recent years, with advances in processor efficiency, display systems, and environmental sensors now reducing the need for bulky hardware. Private equity activity in the space has remained cautious, however, due to relatively slow development of economic use-cases.
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