Magic Leap lining up another $1 billion in funding
Secretive startup plans to sell 37 million shares at $27 each, taking lifetime funding beyond $2.5 billion
Magic Leap is seeking to raise another $1 billion in new funding through the sale of 37 million shares of series D preferred stock.
The sale is detailed in an official document filed with the State of Delaware, which sets a price of $27 per share. According to Techcrunch, which obtained the document, that would mean an additional $1 billion in funding.
Magic Leap would not confirm if the money had already been raised, and the document did not disclose the identities of any buyers. However, it is tangible evidence of a need for more funding at the tech world's most enigmatic startup - and double the amount that was rumoured in September this year.
This, in itself, may surprise some people. Magic Leap raised around $1.6 billion in two gigantic rounds between December 2015 and February 2016, from prominent investors like Google, Alibaba and Andreessen Horowitz.
A recent Bloomberg report, which contained the first mention of new funding, said that Magic Leap intends to ship the first units of its device to "a small group of users" within six months - with a price as high as $2,000. However, at the moment, the company is as much known for a level of hype that will be difficult to justify as it is the vast amounts of money it has raised.
This month, Magic Leap launched a new website, with a new logo, and marketing materials offering assurances that "the whole story" would be revealed soon.
