For a company that’s showed almost no one what they’re building, Magic Leap has been phenomenally successful at fundraising. The company has previously raised a staggering $1.4 billion, and if a recent report turns out to be true, they’re about to raise even more, reportedly pushing the company’s valuation to $6–8 billion.
According to Backchannel, a young tech publication owned by WIRED Media Group, Magic Leap is seeking a Series D financing, and though it hasn’t closed yet, Alibaba will lead the round (as it did in the company’s Series C). It’s unclear how much additional capital the company plans to raise, but Backchannel’s Jessi Hempel—who has visited Magic Leap’s Florida HQ—says it will value the company between $6–8 billion, pushing the startup well beyond ‘Unicorn’ status (a startup achieving a $1+ billion valuation).
That’s an extremely rare feat for any startup, but even more surprising for a company that has not launched or even announced any products.
To date the company has done little more than tease what it’s building, but it seems it will be some type of augmented reality headset and operating system environment that could be built on novel display technology that’s uniquely suited for augmented reality.
The purported new Series D round is in the works despite the company recently downplaying some of the hype following a bout of skeptical press spearheaded by a report from The Information at the end of 2016. It seems that press hasn’t dissuaded Alibaba, nor the celebrities the company has wooed as of late.