Alibaba Makes Metaverse Bet in China’s Magic Leap Rival

Alibaba’s investment in Nreal follows similar moves by other Chinese internet giants eyeing the metaverse. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. led a $60 million investment in Chinese augmented reality glasses maker Nreal, joining rivals Tencent Holdings Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd. to stake a claim in the future of the metaverse.

The so-called Series C+ funding round brings the total Nreal raised within 12 months to $200 million, the Beijing outfit said in a statement, without disclosing its latest valuation. The startup was valued at $700 million in a previous round announced in September 2021, CNBC reported at the time, citing an unnamed source.