Tech investors are betting big on alternate realities

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The Pokémon Go phenomenon has given new momentum to the idea of augmented reality - that is, products that project computer-generated images (like animated cartoon characters) on top of real-world images. AR is the cousin of virtual reality, which completely immerses users in a computer-generated world. The most prominent example of VR is Facebook's Oculus Rift headset, which hit the market this spring.

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Now, investors are jumping on the bandwagon. Global investment in VR and AR startups in the first quarter of 2016 topped $1 billion - that's more than they invested in all of 2015. Most of that investment - $794 million - went into a single company, Magic Leap, which is developing a secretive technology that will reportedly beam computer generated images directly into your eyeballs. But regardless, investors are betting big on alternate realities becoming a multibillion dollar market.

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