REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Meta, the pioneering technology leader in Augmented Reality (AR), announced the closing of $50 million in a Series B round of funding. The round includes significant participation by Horizons Ventures Limited, Lenovo, Tencent, Banyan Capital, Comcast Ventures, and GQY.
Called one of the most significant technologies in recent years, Meta 2 was unveiled to a standing ovation at TED 2016 in February. Meta is delivering a new “natural machine” that builds on the principles of neuroscience to create a completely intuitive experience that transforms how people work, play, communicate and engage with each other.
Meron Gribetz, CEO of Meta, said, “It is incredibly gratifying to have the support of big thinkers and investors who understand the importance of creating a new human-computer interface, anchored in science. Our friends at Tencent, Lenovo, Horizons Ventures, Comcast Ventures and all the other investors really get what we’re doing and why Meta is different from the other players in AR. They understand that the combination of our advanced optical engines along with our neuroscience-based interface design approach are what will create a computing experience that is 100x easier to use and more powerful than traditional form factors.”
Meta plans to use funds raised in the Series B round for building upon its hardware and software technology base, business expansion, including app development, and developing the next generation of its technology, Meta 3.
About Meta Investors
Horizons Ventures Limited
PR Contact:
Wendy Yu, wendy@horizons.com.hk
Horizons Ventures, the private investment arm of Mr. Li Ka-shing, is a leading investor in some of the world’s most innovative companies and disruptive technologies, including Facebook, Waze, Spotify, Impossible Foods, Hampton Creek and Blockstream.
Banyan Capital
PR Contact: Hao Fu, hao_fu@banyanvc.com
Headquartered in Beijing, Banyan capital is a leading venture capital firm in China, with rich experiences in frontier technology sector investment and deep connections with giant Internet companies in China. Banyan team invested Xiaomi, Xiaomi Band, Yi Camera, Lifesense, Razer and Moov before. The LPs of Banyan Capital include world-class investors, as well as successful entrepreneurs from both TMT and traditional sectors, such as founders of Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, etc.
Comcast Ventures
PR Contact: Angela
Pontarolo, 415-858-2586, angela_pontarolo@comcast.com
Comcast Ventures, the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation, invests in innovative businesses that represent the next generation of entertainment, communications and digital technology by partnering with entrepreneurs who have the vision, passion and tenacity to succeed. Most investments are in the advertising, consumer, enterprise and infrastructure sectors. Comcast Ventures provides its portfolio companies with countless resources, relationships and know-how to help them perform at the highest possible levels.
GQY
PR Contact: Jier Yuan, jier@gqy.com.cn
Ningbo GQY Video & Telecom Joint-Stock Co., Ltd. is a pioneer in the manufacture and distribution of video, networking and telecommunications products. The company’s major products include image displays, image processing systems, robotics and automation equipment that are used in such industries as police, transportation, government, finance, energy and education. The company was founded on June 10, 1992 and is headquartered in Ningbo, China.
Tencent
PR Contact: Marsh Zhang, marshzhang@tencent.com
Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Every day, hundreds of millions of people communicate, share experiences, consume information and seek entertainment through our integrated platforms. Tencent's diversified services include: QQ, Weixin/ WeChat for communications; Qzone for social networking; QQ Game Platform for online games; QQ.com and Tencent News for information and Tencent Video for video content. Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 and went public on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company is one of the constituent stocks of the
Hang Seng Index. Tencent seeks to evolve with the Internet by investing in innovation, providing a mutually beneficial environment for partners, and staying close to users.
About Meta
Meta is the pioneering technology leader in Augmented Reality (AR), leveraging the principles of neuroscience to develop a new generation of natural machines, combined hardware and software that are a healthy, vital extension of how people work, connect and communicate. The company employs the best and brightest in AR and wearable computing and partners with forward-thinking organizations and academics around the globe. Meta was founded in New York City and is headquartered in Redwood City, CA. It can be found online at www.metavision.com.
Investor Quotes
Banyan Capital
“In our view, Meta has built a world-class team. Meta is probably the
only startup which has the capabilities to compete with giant companies'
projects like Microsoft Hololens and Magic Leap.”
Bin Yue,
Founding Partner of Banyan Capital
Comcast Ventures
“Augmented reality represents a transformational platform for
communication, collaboration and how individuals will work in the
future,” said Michael Yang, Managing Director at Comcast Ventures. "Meta’s
platform enables a host of new ways to conduct business across a wide
array of industries. We look forward to supporting Meta as our
first investment in the AR market.”
Michael Yang, Managing
Director, Comcast Ventures
GQY
“Augmented Reality is the next strategic technology for GQY. Through
the investment in Meta, GQY is looking to bring the best-in-class
Augmented Reality applications to China. This goal will be achieved by
leveraging Meta's leading-edge AR hardware, software and GQY's in-depth
knowledge and relationships in industrial training, public
transportation and education sectors in China. Therefore, the strategic
partnership with Meta is extremely important for GQY's success in
Augmented Reality market.”
Jier Yuan, VP, North America, GQY
