Magic Leap is present process layoffs just some months after asserting a partnership with Google.
On-line postings from just lately departed workers raised public discover of the transfer. We reached out to Magic Leap searching for a headcount, both remaining employed by the corporate or laid off, and acquired the next assertion from a “firm spokesperson” at an exterior public relations agency responding to an electronic mail despatched to Magic Leap itself:
Magic Leap has been evolving our go-to-market method to raised align with market dynamics and rising alternatives, optimizing how we help our prospects and our ecosystem. As a part of this, now we have consolidated our frontline engagement to our developer help and care groups. We are going to proceed to actively help Magic Leap’s prospects, builders and our giant ecosystem by the Developer Help and Care groups.
At this time, Magic Leap makes the Magic Leap 2 optically clear AR headset which is offered by resellers focusing on enterprise and authorities use circumstances. Its founder and former CEO, Rony Abovitz, raised billions of {dollars} for the trouble from the likes of Google and Saudi Arabia’s personal funding fund earlier than the nicely for its more and more giant funding rounds ran dry across the time COVID-19 unfold globally. Following huge layoffs, Abovitz was changed as CEO and the corporate continued to focus its providing towards enterprise.
4 years later, Magic Leap 2 is a state-of-the-art AR headset which externalizes most processing for the machine right into a wearable sling within the considerably related approach Apple reduces weight in your head with Imaginative and prescient Professional’s battery pack. Importantly, Apple and Meta’s headsets function absolutely opaque VR shows which recreate the bodily world for its wearers’ eyes in a very completely different optical path from Magic Leap’s work. In 2018, throughout the singular time Abovitz accepted an on the file interview with me, he promised “papers” to again imprecise assertions concerning the security of their method compared to others.
Six years later, Meta already sees a success within the sensible glasses class with its Ray-partnership, albeit with out a show, as a bulk of its analysis is spent on miniaturizing elements and manufacturing to drive future AR glasses. Whereas Meta is working to chop prices itself, it’s doing in order headsets and glasses on the firm would possibly transfer from producing $1 billion a 12 months in annual income to creating $1 billion quarterly.
On the similar time, Apple is spinning up its eyewear division beginning with Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional utilizing the identical VR headset with digicam passthrough path as Meta.
What quantity of income did Magic Leap 2 generate this 12 months? What are its prospects for 2025? And the way useful is any of what is left of Magic Leap’s mental AR property portfolio to the likes of Google?
These are powerful questions for Magic Leap’s remaining employees and buyers.