Last week we reported that high-profile augmented reality company Magic Leap had filed a lawsuit against Chinese competitor, Nreal. The company claimed that Nreal founder and former Magic Leap software engineer Chi Xu had “wrongfully used and disclosed to Nreal and its collaborators the confidential and proprietary information to which he obtained access as a former Magic Leap employee.”

Today, Nreal denied the accusation.

Nreal’s Statement

“We have heard about the recent media reports regarding Nreal and Magic Leap,” an Nreal spokesperson said in a statement to UploadVR. “Nreal believes that these rumors and accusations are false and anticompetitive in nature. Without additional information we’re not able to provide further comment.”

Nreal is currently working on a pair of AR sunglasses called Nreal Light. They project virtual images into the real world. Users can interact with them using a three degrees of freedom (3DOF) motion controller. Similar to Magic Leap One, the headset is powered by an external power hub. Unlike Magic Leap’s AR headset, though, it can also be powered by smartphones with a Snapdragon 855 chipset or better. We’ve been quite impressed by the device in our limited experience with it.

“Nreal Light was developed with the vision that we would be able to make mixed reality technology accessible to everyone, in a familiar sunglass form factor,” the company’s statement continues. “Along the way, through hard work we discovered breakthroughs and finally managed to unveil Nreal Light at CES 2019. We’ve appreciated the excitement around how Nreal has reinvigorated the AR/MR industry and have continued to work hard to develop innovative consumer-friendly solutions, including allowing our Nreal Light to be powered by smartphones. And we remain committed to allowing all people to see the world in a whole new Light.”

The kit is expected to ship this year. We’ll bring you updates on this lawsuit when we have them.