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Nreal, a maker of augmented reality glasses, has raised $60 million in a funding round led by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
Beijing-based Nreal is one of the few companies still standing from the early wave of AR glasses makers. And last year, it unveiled the second generation of Nreal Air glasses with major improvements.
The Series C+ funding will be used to increase investment in R&D, accelerate the company’s global business expansion into new markets this year, including China, and strengthen Nreal’s existing partnerships with developers and partners to build a broader range of content and experiences to users.
The goal of the Beijing-based company is to quickly stay on top of technology and create multi-generational products so that it can be ready with the right one when the AR market takes off. The company presents the device as a “portable cinema.”
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Nreal wants to lead the AR glasses movement with lightweight glasses. Nreal has partnered with more than 10 world-renowned airlines and has brought its product to six countries to date.
Xu said progress in AR technology has accelerated exponentially since Nreal Light was first unveiled. And that makes smaller and more compact augmented reality technology available. The company has also designed the new glasses for specific uses, such as streaming TV shows and playing mobile games.
The goal is to create an immersive experience in a form indistinguishable from everyday sunglasses. Nreal didn’t disclose the exact technical details, but he said the Nreal Air has the best screen on the market available for any AR device, as it is capable of projecting up to a (simulated) 201-inch virtual screen. , when viewed from a distance of six meters, which is very suitable for viewing multimedia content.
Nreal’s AR experiences are moving forward in 2022.
The glasses are still attached to your smartphone, just like the Nreal Light. But the glasses are about a third lighter and more comfortable to wear than many previous AR glasses, Xu said.
The device has a micro-OLED display. Nreal Air’s display has a high color density, with a whopping 49 pixels per degree (PPD). This ensures fine details are clearly visible and improves the realism of the content, Xu said. And it has a refresh rate of up to 90 Hz, and the features don’t drain the phone’s battery.
As one of the survivors, Nreal has been able to raise more than $245 million to date, including $200 million in the past year. The first glasses debuted in South Korea, Japan and Europe. Xu said the company has more than 250 employees. Xu said he believes the headquarter in China is an advantage.
Alibaba’s investment in Nreal follows previous strategic investments by leading brands and institutions, including NIO, Kuaishou and iQIYI, as more companies take the leap from exploration to developing AR-based integrations within their existing businesses.
Other key investors backing Nreal from previous rounds include Yunfeng Capital, Sequoia China, Hillhouse, NIO Capital, Aplus, CICC Capital, Shunwei Capital, CPE, China Growth Capital and other world-renowned investors.
Nreal .’s latest milestones
Side view of the Nreal Air.
Key to Nreal’s localized sales strategy is its carrier partners, allowing Nreal to regionally market its line of AR glasses, which include Nreal Light and Nreal Air.
Most recently, Nreal Light began selling in the United States in Verizon stores nationwide, before selling out within the first day. And to spark consumer interest, in February Nreal launched Nreal’s brand new line of ultra-thin AR glasses, Nreal Air, through an online and offline retail partnership with NTT DOCOMO and KDDI, two leading telecom operators in Japan.
In December, Nreal and NIO announced that the electric vehicle industry’s first AR glasses tailored for EVs will integrate with NIO’s PanoCinema, a panoramic and immersive “digital cockpit.” The new AR glasses for EV will be launched in 2022.
Nreal also announced a partnership with streaming service Cinedigm. The partnership provides original content and channels, available on the Nreal Light AR glasses. Audiences can enjoy watching their shows on one virtual HD screen, while multitasking on up to two adjacent virtual screens at the same time.
Nreal has updated its software development kit (SDK), allowing content providers to stream DRM video content on Nreal’s AR glasses. In addition, Nreal has partnered with Accedo to introduce the first interactive AR design reference for interactive AR games or video viewing experiences.
Founded in 2017, Nreal has nearly 400 employees.
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This post AR glasses maker Nreal raises $60 million in funding led by Alibaba
was original published at “https://venturebeat.com/2022/03/29/ar-glasses-maker-nreal-raises-60m-in-funding-led-by-alibaba/”