Google Leads $542 Million Investment In Magic Leap's Wearable VR Tech

Tech giant Google Inc. is leading a $542 million investment in Magic Leap Inc., a startup focused on virtual and augmented reality technology.

The Florida-based startup announced on Tuesday it completed its second financing round led by Google Inc., with other investors including Qualcomm Inc., Legendary Entertainment, KKR, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Andreessen Horowitz and Obvious Ventures. Following the company’s Series B financing round, Magic Leap is now valued at close to $2 billion, Bloomberg News reported.

Magic Leap said the startup will use the financing to “commercialize its proprietary mobile wearable system.” The startup’s plan involves a wearable device that will track users’ eyeballs and project images onto them, sources told Re/code.

“Magic Leap is going beyond the current perception of mobile computing, augmented reality and virtual reality,” Rony Abovitz, chief executive officer and founder of Magic Leap, said in a press release. “We are transcending all three, and will revolutionize the way people communicate, purchase, learn, share and play.”

Virtual and augmented reality companies have caught the eye of other tech giants this year, including Facebook Inc. The social networking company announced in March it reached a $2 billion deal to acquire Oculus VR Inc., which owns virtual-reality headset maker Oculus Rift.

Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Android at Google, will join Magic Leap's board, while Paul Jacobs, executive chairman of Qualcomm, and Don Harrison, vice president of corporate development at Google, will both become observers on the startup’s board.

“We are looking forward to Magic Leap’s next stage of growth, and to seeing how it will shape the future of visual computing,” Pichai said in the statement.

Google and Magic Leap did not immediately respond to requests for comment.