The Saudi sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), has reportedly gained control of augmented reality developer Magic Leap in a deal worth $450 million. 

The Florida-based company, founded in 2010 by Rony Abovitz, has spent billions developing a headset that projects holograms onto the real world to immerse users in the digital landscape.

“Our goal is to make our interactions with the metaverse a more natural extension of how we view and operate in the physical world,” CEO Peggy Johnson said in a recent blog post.

The Telegraph reported that Magic Leap had previously raised $150 million in funding and $300 million in debt this year after pulling in $500 million in 2021. In August, it had $223 million in cash, The Telegraph said, citing public filings in Europe.

Reportedly, PIF took a stake in more than half of the business giving it majority control. It is now entitled to appoint four directors to its board.

PIF is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, with approximately $620 billion in assets under management, at the heart of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda. The plan envisions diversifying the Saudi economy away from oil and preparing it for a post-hydrocarbon age. The PIF will be critical as a facilitator for unlocking new investment and business opportunities.