Xreal, the China-based AR headset creator, announced it’s secured $60 million in its latest funding round which it hopes to use for product development and an expansion of production facilities.

Founded in 2017 and headquarted in Beijing, Xreal counts among its investors Alibaba, Nio Capital, Shunwei Capital, Sequoia China, YF Capital, Kuaishou, and Gentle Monster, among others.

This brings the company’s overall funding to $300 million, CEO Chi Xu told Bloomberg in an interview, however the company declined to identify the source of the latest investment. According to Xreal, the company now sports a billion-dollar valuation.

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“This latest strategic fundraising round reinforces our position in the global AR market, it skyrockets our expansion goals, and it demonstrates strong commitment from our trusted fundraising partners,” said Chi in a statement. “As the first unicorn in AR glasses, we see where the AR industry is heading and are honored to continue leading and teaming with the industry’s finest today, through the launch of Xreal Air 2 Ultra in the spring, and beyond. Developer, partner and retailer conversations are underway now to make Xreal Air 2 Ultra’s first year the biggest in AR history.”

Xreal (previously Nreal) announced Air 2 Ultra at CES 2024, signaling a return for the company to augmented reality ahead of Apple’s entrance into the space with its $3,500 Vision Pro mixed reality headset.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Nevets

    Good for them. I thought Apple’s announcement would have obliterated them but it was just another facebrick. I have xreal’s Air (the original model) and it’s a solid product that does just what it says on the tin. I look forward to the Air 2 Ultra, ‘real’ AR specs. Birdbath optics aren’t what we really wanted by now, but they do the job and could usher AR into the mainstream.

  • Christian Schildwaechter

    Just a reminder: Pico collected less than USD 100mn total in venture capital over several rounds, which allowed them to operate for several years, release a number 3DoF and 6DoF VR HMDs. incl. the Quest 2 like Pico Neo 3 Link that came with a much desired DP input for the best possible tethered connection when using it with PCVR.

    None of them sold in mass market numbers, but it made them attractive enough for both Bytedance and Tencent wanting to acquire the company, with Bytedance finally paying, depending on source, either 5bn or 9bn Yuan (USD 775mn/USD 1.3bn), and, now flush with TikTok money, allowed releasing the Pico 4 as the first actually usable consumer VR HMD with pancake lenses.

    Bytedance would have had the money to compete directly with Meta, but due to a mix of political climate, underwhelming reaction and financial sanity now seems to go for the AVP market instead. So “Chinese AR Startup Xreal Raises $60M in Hopes of Competing with Apple” isn’t as futile as USD 60mn vs USD 3,000,000mn Apple might sound. It’s just one step on the way.

  • Andrew Jakobs

    According to a german site, they are running out of money to get it to production quality, still only some test-runs.

  • Well, compliments. Becoming a unicorn is a pretty remarkable achievement!