Job search
Job Search
Latest news
More news: (showing 1 - 20 of 13727)           
UK only International

Magic Leap secures US$793.5m to develop mixed-reality lightfield device

By Tom Anstey    03 Feb 2016
The Magic Leap device shoots images into the user’s eyes / Magic Leap

Augmented reality (AR) startup Magic Leap has said it’s secured a further US$793.5m (€728m, £549m) in new funding, enough to finance its first product – a digital lightfield device which shoots computer-generated images into the user’s eyes.

Differing from market competitors in AR, such as Microsoft’s Hololens, which uses a stereoscopic technique to create the illusion of a three-dimensional image, Magic Leap’s device uses its alternate mixed-reality lightfield to create a world where digital and physical seamlessly blend together.

Based in Dania Beach, Florida, with offices in the US, UK, New Zealand and Israel, the company first hit the headlines in October 2014 when Google revealed that it had invested US$524m (€479.6m, £361.7m) in Magic Leap, despite no-one at the time knowing what the secretive company did. In March 2015, Magic Leap showed-off its first tech demo when its groundbreaking technology used AR to turn the company’s office into a first-person shooter.

The new funding from the Alibaba Group is the latest in a line of big-name investors including Google, Qualcomm Incorporated, Warner Bros, Fidelity Management, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and accounts advised by T.Rowe Price Associates and Wellington Management. Following the latest investment, Magic Leap is now valued at around US$4.5bn (€4.1bn, £3.1bn).

Magic Leap’s next phase of development includes making its device useable for consumers. The company has now entered the pilot production phase and is developing prototypes in Florida which will incorporate its “photonic light chip”. A software development kit for people to create content is also to be released. Magic Leap co-founder and CEO Rony Abovitz has said the technology isn’t “years away”, with the company now entering the production cycle, but that the goal is to enter the market with a fully-formed product rather than a beta version.

Magic Leap  AR  VR  Oculus  Hololens  Microsoft  Augmented Reality  Lightfield  Mixed-reality 
Sign up for FREE ezines
Related news

Company profile

Company profile: PSLT Ltd
PSLT Fitness Solutions manufacture, remanufacture and buy back commercial gym equipment. We supply and maintain gym equipment such as Precor, Technogym, Life Fitness and Matrix to a large number of leisure centres, fire services and local authorities.
View full profile >
More company profiles

Featured Supplier

Elevate registrations soar: a record-breaking start to Elevate 2024
Elevate, the premier event in the physical activity, fitness, sports therapy and performance sector, is thrilled to announce that registrations for its 2024 conference are now live – and the response has been nothing short of exceptional.
View full details >
More featured suppliers

Property & Tenders

Location: Loughton, IG10
Company: Knight Frank
Location: Grantham, Leicestershire
Company: Belvoir Castle
Location: Verwood, Dorset
Company: AVISON YOUNG
Location: Hall Place House, Bexley, DA5 1PQ
Company: London Borough of Bexley
Location: 15 Concessions across the nation's forests
Company: Forestry England
More properties & tenders

Diary dates

11-14 Apr 2024
Exhibition Centre , Cologne, Germany
22-24 Apr 2024
Galgorm Resort, York
10-12 May 2024
China Import & Export Fair Complex, Guangzhou, China
23-24 May 2024
Large Hall of the Chamber of Commerce (Erbprinzenpalais), Wiesbaden, Germany
More diary dates