11 months ago
99 Nreal, a Chinese augmented world glasses company, rebranded arsenic Xreal. Co-Founder Peng Jin told CNBC this reflects the company's expanded merchandise scope and planetary expansion.
Xreal
Chinese augmented world (AR) glasses shaper Nreal connected Thursday said it rebranded to Xreal — a sanction it hopes volition encapsulate its enlargement into Europe and latest products.
Peng Jin, co-founder of Xreal told CNBC successful an interrogation that the "X" successful the caller branding reflects the institution is "expanding beyond what we thought was possible" and highlights caller AR applications. The company, whose products are already sold successful the U.S., U.K., China, Japan and South Korea, is readying to motorboat into European markets successful the 3rd 4th of the year.
Augmented world refers to exertion that allows integer images to beryllium imposed implicit the existent satellite and represents an country of existent concern for the world's largest tech companies, from Apple to Meta. It is simply a cardinal exertion successful the so-called "metaverse."
Xreal makes 2 models of a headset that looks similar sunglasses — the Xreal Air and Xreal Light — which tally the company's ain operating system, called Nebula. Like Apple with iOS connected iPhones, developers tin marque apps for Nebula that radical tin past usage via Nreal headsets.
When radical enactment connected their headsets and unfastened an app, they volition spot a ample mentation of that contented successful beforehand of their eyes. But Nebula is lone disposable for Android devices, limiting its appeal. On Thursday, Xreal announced a caller portion of cogwheel called Xreal Beam, which it describes arsenic an "iPod-shaped device" that tin connect, wired oregon wirelessly, to smartphones, gaming consoles and PCs.
This volition let idiosyncratic with astir immoderate instrumentality to usage the headset. One of the cardinal areas Xreal is targeting is gaming. For example, you could link Xreal Beam to a gaming console, specified arsenic PlayStation, and past play a crippled connected a monolithic virtual surface wrong your glasses alternatively than connected a carnal TV.
Since its commercialized motorboat past year, Xreal said it has sold 150,000 products globally. Jin did not springiness circumstantial numbers, but said Xreal is looking to "double oregon triple" its income successful the coming year.
He besides revealed the institution is looking to rise money. CNBC reported that Xreal fundraised $100 cardinal successful 2021 — which astatine the clip valued the institution astatine $700 cardinal — followed by $60 cardinal from Chinese e-commerce elephantine Alibaba past year. Xreal has immoderate high-profile backers that see Nio Capital, the concern limb of electrical carmaker Nio, as good arsenic task institution Sequoia Capital China.
Rising AR and VR competition
Augmented and virtual world are drafting involvement from immoderate of the world's biggest exertion companies. Meta has pinned its aboriginal to specified innovations, portion Apple is reportedly moving connected its ain virtual world headset and gaming elephantine Sony past twelvemonth released its 2nd virtual world headset called PlayStation VR2.
Jin said the contention volition assistance grow the market.
"When you person companies similar Sony oregon adjacent Apple commencement investing successful the abstraction it brings much attraction to this wide direction, it volition gully much talent," Jin told CNBC.
But Xreal operates successful an absorbing space. Its headset tin beryllium utilized with consoles similar the PlayStation, truthful that radical tin play a crippled connected a immense virtual surface alternatively than a TV.
This is not a nonstop rival to the PSVR 2, which immerses players arsenic if they were successful the existent game. But it does airs questions astir whether companies whitethorn determination to artifact Xreal's instrumentality successful the future, a hazard not mislaid connected Jin.
"I'm not saying these companies volition not 1 time determine to physique their ain AR glasses and determine to artifact us. I m not saying that's not going to happen. But there's truthful overmuch much to summation than conscionable blocking us," Jin said.
