Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund acquires majority stake in US-based Magic Leap

Saudi Arabia-based sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), has acquired a majority stake in augmented reality (AR) developer Magic Leap. The acquisition deal is worth $450 million. 

Founded by Rony Abovitz in 2010, US-based Magic Leap has developed a headset capable of projecting holograms onto the real world to immerse users in the digital realm.

According to reports, Magic Leap had earlier raised $150 million in venture funding and $300 million in debt this year.

With this acquisition, the PIF can now appoint four directors to Magic Leap's eight-member board, the reports added.

Earlier, in 2021, oil conglomerate Saudi Aramco had signed a deal with Magic Leap for utilising the latter's augmented reality (AR) tech for remote partnership and 3D visualisation.

In 2018, the PIF was part of $400 million Series D equity funding in Magic Leap.

In a blog post, Peggy Johnson, CEO of Magic Leap, highlighted the company's goal to make metaverse-related interactions "a more natural extension of how we view and operate in the physical world".

"We’re seeing increasing demand for AR solutions today, and we’re working closely with developers to create new opportunities with AR," she added.

The PIF is focusing on "propelling the national economy with the impact felt well beyond Saudi borders". This is in line with its aim to realise Vision 2030—Saudi Arabia's economic transformation programme.

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