AR/VR investments hit $1.1B in first two months of 2016, already beating last year’s total

Augmented reality and virtual reality investment reached $1.1 billion in the first 2 months of this year, according to tech advisor Digi-Capital. That figure is impressive because it beats the $686 million in AR/VR investments for all of 2015, and this is the first time that AR/VR investment has topped a billion dollars in any year.

About $794 million came from the big Magic Leap round of investment, which was confirmed on February 2. Another $300 million went into AR/VR solutions and services, VR hardware, advertising and marketing, distribution, apps and games, video, and peripherals. Even without Magic Leap, investment is up 20 percent so far in the first quarter of 2016, compared to the $250 million invested in Q4 2015. Plus, another four weeks are left for investors to boost AR/VR this quarter.