Magic Leap has raised $ 502 million: why investors continue to invest in Google's secret project

Magic Leap, an augmented reality company that never showed its products to the general public, attracted $ 502 million in investment. This round of investments was led by Temasek, a Singapore holding, and already existing investors - Google, Alibaba and JP Morgan Investment Management - took part in it. Prior to this, the size of the attracted Magic Leap capital was $ 1.4 billion.

According to Business Insider, a startup plans to launch smart glasses that will use computer technology and camera capabilities to integrate graphics into the real world. Several celebrities and technology leaders have already tested the Magic Leap, but all have signed a confidentiality agreement.
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Nevertheless, despite the increased level of secrecy, many assume that this project is one of the few that is able to realize their ideas - unlike the infamous startups Theranos and Juicero .

The company has its powerful media division headed by science fiction writer Neal Stevenson and game developer Gram Devine . In addition, she collaborates with Weta Workshop and ILMxLAB, specializing in digital effects.

The product Magic Leap has already demonstrated progress in terms of basic visual technologies. However, at the same time, its developers avoid discussing the following aspects:

Creating glasses without sacrificing visual fields;
The optimum weight of the product;
Control system design - physical buttons, gesture tracking, voice recognition or a combination of the above options;
Designing an intuitive user interface;
Support for existing popular applications with support for AR, such as Snapchat;
Object recognition function in the real world;
Ensuring the confidentiality and security of personal data;
Convincing people that such glasses are not a strange idea, but an innovative novelty.

Despite the company's objections, Magic Leap still has a problem with the impossibility of reducing the size of the product. Also, its CEO, Roni Abovits, ignores the problem of confidentiality of information and responsibility for potential users.

Technology giants Facebook, Apple, Google and Microsoft are interested in developing AR-glasses. However, as Apple CEO Tim Cook said in October, at the moment there is no technology for creating high-quality augmented reality glasses.

Despite the fact that information on the current activities of Magic Leap is closed, the company continues to generate many patent applications for its technologies, which it plans to implement soon. It is also attractive for investors that makes literate PR.

Perhaps ten years from now Apple and Google will be selling glasses made with Magic Leap lenses, just as they are now with phones made using Gorilla Glass. And, perhaps, Magic Leap Studios will really create interesting products with augmented reality technology, but large investments are not at all a guarantee of its further success.

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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/340906/

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Magic Leap has raised $ 502 million: why investors continue to invest in Google's secret project

Other materials on finance and stock market from ITI Capital :

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