Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has invested over US$500 million in a virtual reality headset aimed at competing with Apple's Vision Pro goggles.
The fund injected US$590 million into Magic Leap, a US tech company specialising in headgear that overlays virtual images onto the real world.
It is a direct rival to Apple’s highly anticipated US$3,499 Vision Pro headset, which is set to go on sale on Friday.
According to filings from Magic Leap's European division, as of November, the company issued "$590 million of convertible debt to the Ultimate Parent Undertaking [the Public Investment Fund] in exchange for cash" in 2023.
Magic Leap had initially released a pair of augmented reality glasses in 2015 but they experienced limited commercial success.
However, in the last two years, the PIF has become the majority owner of Magic Leap, with the investment fund’s most recent backing bringing the VR company’s total capital raised to more than US$4.5 billion.
Magic Leap is still yet to turn a profit.
Since launching in 2010, the tech group has received funding from major investors such as Google and AT&T.
Originally targeting consumers with its US$3,299 headset, Magic Leap shifted its focus toward corporate customers in recent times and even explored licensing its intellectual property to other major technology firms.