Magic Leap gets $280m from Docomo, targets Japan expansion

The deal will support development of mixed applications of AR and VR and the creation of an immersive media platform. This technology, known as spatial computing, aims to integrate operational interfaces into the user’s physical surroundings. It will target both consumer media and enterprise use-cases by leveraging Docomo’s planned 5G infrastructure and a new line of devices from Magic Leap.

Focus industries will include communications, commerce, sports and entertainment. “As Docomo advances the power of its network and technology for tens of millions of customers, its partnership with Magic Leap will help deliver capabilities and experiences never thought possible,” Rony Abovitz, founder and CEO of Magic Leap said in a statement.

The investment builds on a $502 million Series D round in 2017 from a group including Google, Alibaba Group and Temasek Holdings that aimed to expand the company’s activity in Singapore and resulted in valuations as high as $6 billion. This followed $793 million Series C in 2016 that included participation from Warner Bros Entertainment.

Previous investors also include KKR, Fidelity Investments, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, T. Rowe Price, Qualcomm Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Morgan Stanley Private Equity, EDBI, Janus Henderson Investors, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. According to The New York Times, the company has raised $2.3 billion to date and will re-open its Series D.

Magic Leap launched its first headset last year. The product is said to combine natural light with “layered synthetic lightfields” and an internet browser to give the user the impression of physical displacement. The rollout followed a difficult R&D period that included allegations of a misleading technology demonstration and a lawsuit alleging misleading marketing materials.

Investors have approached VR and AR hardware with caution, citing a lack of economic use-cases despite significant strides in the development of data processors, display screens, and environmental sensors. Earlier this year, China-based Nreal raised $15 million to accelerate the first shipments of a VR headset that resembles normal sunglasses.

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• Topics
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• Japan
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