Alibaba, Warner Bros. invest in Augmented Reality startup Magic Leap

BANGALORE: Augmented reality startup Magic Leap has raised nearly $794 million from an investor group led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

The stealthy Florida-based company has also added Warner Bros. and a host of financial institutions to its investor roster, which already includes Google, Qualcomm and Legendary Entertainment. The latest round, which values the company at $4.5 billion, brings the company’s total funding to nearly $1.4 billion in just two years.

Magic Leap has quietly been building its AR technology since 2010 but made a splash in 2014 when Google led a $542 million investment into the firm.

The company has teased some images of its technology — called Mixed Reality Lightfield — which would allow viewers to experience the real world and computer-generated experiences all at the same time.