The year 2020 may have been a bad year for many people, but it is certain that technology companies had a reason to smile. No one denies the fact that the shining star was the Zoom video meeting application, but we also have to accept that there are stars that are not yet fully visible. Among these sectors, ‘Augmented Reality’, ‘Mixed Reality’, and ‘Virtual Reality’ stand out as the technologies that provide the highest efficiency in remote work. Therefore, I have prepared a compilation of the most invested companies of 2020 for VR/AR-like technologies, which are in the spotlight of investors.

10 — Mira ($10 Million)

Founded in 2016 and based in Los Angeles, Mira is the operator of a mobile augmented reality company used to provide industrial-grade wearable devices and hands-free software technologies. Having relatively affordable solutions, the company has managed to raise $12.7 million in investment so far.

9 — Spatial ($14 Million)

Founded in 2016 in New York, Spatial has received a total of $22.3 million in investment. The company , which raised $14 million in Series-A investment just before the pandemic was declared last year, impresses with its 3D realistic avatars, user-friendly augmented reality tools for collaboration, and affordable pricing policy. Also, Oculus Quest users will remember its application which can be downloaded for free from the store.

8 — Talespin ($15 Million)

Talespin is a California-based technology company founded in 2015 that works on enterprise XR (virtual, augmented, and mixed reality) workforce transformation solutions. The company uses its proprietary XR technology platform to create VR-based learning and training applications. With the $15 million investment it received in 2020, they continue their work with a total of $20.6 million.

7 — Mad Gaze ($19 Million)

MAD Gaze is an AR smart glasses company founded by Jordan Cheng, with offices in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. They create an ecosystem for businesses and consumers by manufacturing AR glasses. With the $19 million it received this year, the company has managed to attract a total of $30 million in investment .

6 — Librestream ($24 Million)

Librestream Technologies Inc. develops operation-focused video collaboration solutions for enterprises. Founded in 2003, the company, which caught the attention of investors with its high-tech features, managed to secure $24 million this year, bringing its total funding to $44.3 million.

5 — Nreal ($40 Million)

Another smart glasses manufacturer, Nreal , managed to raise $40 million in funding from investors this year. A total of $71 million in investment is definitely not an amount to be underestimated. I have no doubt that the smart glasses market will gain momentum in the coming years.

4 — Envisics ($50 Million)

Envisics develops a dynamic holographic display platform for automobiles, providing drivers with advanced information dashboards. It seems we will be hearing the name of this company much more in the future, as it managed to secure $50 million even in its very first investment round.

3 — Mojo Vision ($51 Million)

Mojo Vision , a company developing AR contact lenses—which I follow closely and is one of my favorite technologies—managed to raise $51 million in funding in 2020. In total, it has attracted $159 million in investment .

2 — Magic Leap ($350 Million)

Founded in 2010, Magic Leap has not fully created the expected impact, despite receiving a total of $3 billion in investment . However, investments continue at full speed.

1 — Epic Games ($1.78 Billion)

It is possible to develop AR and VR games with Epic Games ’ game engine Unreal Engine . It is worth reminding that the company, which has accumulated a total of $3.4 billion in funding along with the $1.78 billion it received in 2020, was founded in 1991.

In 2020, the changing way of doing business due to the effect of people being confined to their homes after the COVID-19 pandemic opened a new door for the technology world. Also, let’s not forget that companies like Microsoft (HoloLens), Google (Glass), Apple, and Facebook (Oculus), which do not need investment, continue to work in these areas.

The list is taken from Next Reality . The texts and explanations belong to me.