An attendee tries a pair of Nreal mixed-reality glasses at the MWC Shanghai exhibition in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021.
Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images
GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese augmented reality (AR) glasses maker Nreal has raised $100 million to fund international expansion and develop new products.
Augmented reality refers to technology that allows digital images to be imposed over the real world and it’s an area that the world’s largest technology companies are investing in.
The funding round values Nreal at $700 million, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told CNBC. The person was not authorized to speak publicly about the valuation.
Nreal declined to comment on the valuation.
Chi Xu, CEO of Nreal, told CNBC that the company plans to spend the money on research and development as well as expanding its footprint globally.
“China is definitely a huge market, and (we plan) to enter that market next year, and also the U.S .and maybe more countries as well,” Xu said.
Nreal has not launched its AR glasses in China yet, but its flagship product — the Nreal Light — has been retailing in a handful of markets including South Korea, Japan and Spain.
Nreal Light is a pair of lightweight glasses which connects to a smartphone. Users can then experience so-called mixed reality apps, where digital images are superimposed over the real world.
The start-up’s backers include a number of major investors including Nio Capital, the investment arm of electric carmaker Nio as well as venture company Sequoia Capital China.
Xu called Nio Capital a strategic investor and sees a potential for the two companies to work together.
“Having AR and EV (electric vehicles) together, that can be very interesting going forward … there’s something I can be sure (of) is there is going to be more and more EVs on the streets. People will spend more time in their cars, so a combination of AR and the car, that will unleash a lot of other possibilities.”
New product launch
Xu said that Nreal will introduce a new product next week and couldn’t give too many details ahead of its launch.
However, the CEO said the new glasses will have a “complete new design,” and will be lighter, more comfortable and cheaper than the current Nreal Light model.
“This product with a lower price point, this can be much easier to penetrate those other markets, like China … and elsewhere,” Xu said.
The new glasses will still plug into a …….
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/23/chinese-ar-glasses-firm-nreal-raises-100-million-in-new-funding.html