News Corp just led a seed round in this Australian augmented reality startup

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Imagine a website that lets you make, manage, and distribute augmented reality (AR) content. That’s the goal of Plattar, an Australian startup that just announced the completion of a US$843,000 seed round led by News Corp Australia.

Plattar consists of two parts: an app builder that comes with customizable templates, and a content management system for AR content. The startup plans to charge customers a monthly fee to use this product, and it provides bespoke services for larger projects.

It claims to already have a client base that includes blue-chip companies from Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The product is in private beta.

This is News Corp Australia’s first seed investment, and unsurprisingly it’s made in the content space. AR, in which digital graphics and sounds are layered onto the real world to give viewers more ways to interact with objects, has been touted as a game-changing technology.

Facebook cites AR as an important part of its 10-year plan, and tech bigwigs like Google and Alibaba have invested over a billion in Magic Leap, an AR startup that hasn’t even unveiled its product to the public. Of course, Google’s much-hyped Glass project was off to a rocky start, but it’s making a comeback with a new version specifically for enterprises.

Converted from Australian dollars. US$1 = A$1.30.