Alibaba: Invests in AR start-up

01 April 2022, Mumbai:

Alibaba will invest $60 million in Nreal, an augmented reality (AR) start-up, in what is being billed as the Chinese e-commerce giant's first step into the metaverse. Nreal made the announcement on Wednesday.

The metaverse is a virtual parallel universe that is viewed as the next important stage in the growth of the internet.

The concept is still in its early stages, but it is thought to be a method to overcome physical limitations by multiplying 3D human interactions within the digital lining of our environment. Many digital behemoths are salivating over the possibilities presented by the establishment of a virtual "new world."

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Nreal, a Chinese maker of augmented reality glasses, revealed on Wednesday that Alibaba is investing $60 million (€53.8 million) in the company.

The funds will be used for R&D, according to the Beijing-based start-up, which also revealed that it has just raised another $200 million from other investors. Despite its modest size, Alibaba's investment is widely regarded as the company's first entry into the metaverse.

It was created by Jack Ma. Alibaba established a separate subsidiary last year as proof of its interest. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), in which digital elements are placed on the physical environment, are both seen as critical technologies for the metaverse's development.

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Other big brands in China's digital business, including Alibaba, do not want to be left behind in this new technology.

ByteDance (the parent company of TikTok) has invested in a number of firms in the industry, including Pico, a maker of virtual reality headsets. The Internet is a behemoth.

Tencent, on the other hand, is developing its own metaverse, leveraging its expertise as a prominent video-game company. The Baidu search engine debuted XiRang in December, heralded as one of China's first metaverse apps. 

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The Beijing government's involvement in the tech sector has boosted China's leading digital companies, although they are still finding their way in this area.

In recent months, state media have issued numerous cautions against risky investments. The metaverse, on the other hand, has the digital tech industry in the United States salivating.

Facebook has shifted its concentration to the metaverse, even rebranding its parent corporation as Meta.

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CREDITS: scmp & Fashion Network.