Yinjiang Shares Invests $5 Million in Magic Leap to Advance AR Integration in Smart City Solutions
Recently, Yinjiang Shares, a listed company specializing in healthcare informatization, issued a public announcement stating that it had signed an Equity Transfer Agreement with Magic Leap, a world-renowned augmented reality (AR) technology company. Through this agreement, Yinjiang Shares invested $5 million to acquire 212,766 shares of Magic Leap. The company stated that this direct investment in Magic Leap would facilitate direct business collaboration, enabling the application of Magic Leap’s products in the AR display sector for smart cities. Furthermore, it would pave the way for deeper cooperation with Magic Leap, including joint research and development and market integration.
According to VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat), Magic Leap is a world-renowned augmented reality (AR) company with over 500 employees and more than 150 patents. Its shareholders include Google, Alibaba, Qualcomm, Kleiner Perkins, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Warner Bros. Magic Leap employs digital light field augmented reality technology, which represents the cutting edge of the AR sector, and its R&D capabilities are ranked among the top globally. The company’s primary R&D focus is on seamlessly integrating stereoscopic 3D images into real-world scenes by transmitting electronic light waves to the eyes and brain, enabling users to directly view and interact with virtual overlays within their physical environment. Currently, Magic Leap is valued at over $4.5 billion.
Magic Leap's Development History
Magic Leap released a video in September 2015 that was “achieved directly using Magic Leap technology,” without any added special effects.
In October 2014, Magic Leap secured a $542 million Series B financing round led by Google, with participation from prominent investors including Qualcomm Ventures, KKR, Vulcan Capital, KPCB, Andreessen Horowitz, and Obvious Ventures. Meanwhile, Sundar Pichai, Google’s newly appointed CEO, joined the company’s board of directors.
In March 2015, Magic Leap also released a video of an augmented reality first-person shooter game, but the company did not include a similar authenticity disclaimer at that time.
In February 2016, AR startup Magic Leap secured $793.5 million in a new round of financing, with Alibaba and Google participating in this round. After completing its Series C funding, Magic Leap’s valuation reached at least $4.5 billion.
On April 19, 2016, Magic Leap released a 2-minute-and-7-second video titled “A Brand New Morning” on YouTube. The company stated that the footage was filmed on April 8 and “did not use special effects or compositing techniques.”
On March 18, 2016, the Chinese government officially released the Outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (2016–2020), which explicitly called for vigorous promotion of innovation and industrialization in emerging frontier fields such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Silver River Holdings (Yinjiang Co., Ltd.) is optimistic about the applicability prospects of VR and AR technologies across various sub-sectors of smart cities. By applying VR/AR technologies to sub-sectors including smart education, smart tourism, smart healthcare, smart transportation, and smart energy, the company aims to enhance user experience with its products and enrich comprehensive solutions for these industries, thereby further strengthening its market competitiveness.
According to VCBeat, Yinjiang Shares is the first company in China to propose the concept of Smart Cities. Earlier this year, an industrial investment fund jointly initiated by Yinjiang Shares and the National Science and Technology Ministry’s Guidance Fund invested in a domestic virtual reality enterprise—Hangzhou Yingmo Technology Co., Ltd.
VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) believes that Yinjiang Co., Ltd. has engaged in multi-level collaborations with renowned enterprises in the VR/AR industry through continuous capital investment, joint research and development, and market integration. By applying VR/AR technologies to various domains of smart cities, the company can significantly enhance its technological leadership within the industry.