AR tech specialist Blippar has secured $5 million in a pre-Series A funding round.

Chroma Ventures (the investment company created by the founders of 4J Studios), and West Coast Capital led the investment, though Globalive Capital also took part.

"The immersive nature of AR makes it one of the most important use cases for the gaming industry," said Chroma Ventures principal Chris van der Kuyl.

"Blippar's AR technology is by far the most advanced and innovative that I've seen in years, and there is huge potential for AR to power the ultimate gaming experience of the future. We look forward to being part of the Blippar journey."

Van der Kuyl will join Blippar's board of directors. FutureLearn chief of content and partnerships officer Justin Cooke also joins the board.

This is reality

Blippar will use the money to further its position in the augmented reality market and accelerate its growth across the US, Europe and Asia.

"We are very excited to have attracted investors of this calibre to Blippar," said Blippar CEO Faisal Galaria.

"Not only is this a solid vote of confidence in Blippar's technology from some of the most highly regarded industry veterans and business minds, but it also demonstrates sustained validation of the UK tech sector post-Brexit.

"2020 was a transformative year for Blippar with a 200 per cent increase in revenue quarter on quarter, continued strengthening of the senior leadership team, and delivery of cutting-edge AR campaigns for major global brands including OnePlus, Kellogg's and Dr Pepper.

"We have leveraged our 10 years of investment, provenance, and technology leadership in the AR space to come back leaner, more focussed and better than ever before."