05-22-2020, 10:21 PM
Magic Leap Secures Funding and Avoids Layoffs
<div><p>In a time where far too many people are being laid off, it’s nice to get a bit of good news for a change. AR tech start-up Magic Leap, have had a bit of a rocky year cumulating in the announcement they would be <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231236/magic-leap-ar-headset-layoffs-coronavirus-enterprise-business-shift">laying off half of their employees</a>. Thankfully it was just announced that they received a $350M investment and those layoffs have been cancelled.</p>
<p>Details of the new funding <a href="https://siliconangle.com/2020/05/21/troubled-augmented-reality-company-magic-leap-raises-350m/">from SiliconAngle</a>:</p>
<blockquote readability="33">
<p>Troubled augmented reality company Magic Leap Inc. has raised $350 million in new funding, according to an internal memo to employees obtained by The Information.</p>
<p>Details on the round, which depending on its form should be a late-stage Series F, are somewhat vague. The investors are described only as current and new investors with the suggestion that a key healthcare company may have been involved.</p>
<p>Although the fundraising itself is surprising, it was good news for employees as Magic Leap withdrew a notice to terminate about 1,000 staff issued in April — meaning that staff on the chopping block will now keep their jobs. Notably, at that time, Magic Leap said it was in the process of negotiating “revenue-generating partnerships.”</p>
<p>The news that a healthcare company may have invested in the company follows Magic Leap’s announcement in December that it was shifting to enterprise augmented reality after failing in the consumer market. The company’s first product, the $2,295 Magic Leap Creator Edition, sold only 6,000 units, a huge disappointment give that the company predicted sales of 100,000 units.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is nice to see that Magic Leap lives to fight another day, although it’s less and less likely we will see Magic Leap in game development with the shift towards enterprise computing, where they will compete directly with <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens">Microsoft’s HoloLens</a>. More details of the investment and Magic Leaps rocky recent history check out the <a href="https://youtu.be/TbXPzaVLJw4">video</a> below.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TbXPzaVLJw4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture">[embedded content]</iframe> </p>
<p class="under"> <span class="categories"><a href="https://www.gamefromscratch.com/category/GameDev-News.aspx">GameDev News</a></span> <span class="tags"><a href="https://www.gamefromscratch.com/?tag=/VR" rel="tag">VR</a></span> </p>
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https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/2020/05/...s-layoffs/
<div><p>In a time where far too many people are being laid off, it’s nice to get a bit of good news for a change. AR tech start-up Magic Leap, have had a bit of a rocky year cumulating in the announcement they would be <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/22/21231236/magic-leap-ar-headset-layoffs-coronavirus-enterprise-business-shift">laying off half of their employees</a>. Thankfully it was just announced that they received a $350M investment and those layoffs have been cancelled.</p>
<p>Details of the new funding <a href="https://siliconangle.com/2020/05/21/troubled-augmented-reality-company-magic-leap-raises-350m/">from SiliconAngle</a>:</p>
<blockquote readability="33">
<p>Troubled augmented reality company Magic Leap Inc. has raised $350 million in new funding, according to an internal memo to employees obtained by The Information.</p>
<p>Details on the round, which depending on its form should be a late-stage Series F, are somewhat vague. The investors are described only as current and new investors with the suggestion that a key healthcare company may have been involved.</p>
<p>Although the fundraising itself is surprising, it was good news for employees as Magic Leap withdrew a notice to terminate about 1,000 staff issued in April — meaning that staff on the chopping block will now keep their jobs. Notably, at that time, Magic Leap said it was in the process of negotiating “revenue-generating partnerships.”</p>
<p>The news that a healthcare company may have invested in the company follows Magic Leap’s announcement in December that it was shifting to enterprise augmented reality after failing in the consumer market. The company’s first product, the $2,295 Magic Leap Creator Edition, sold only 6,000 units, a huge disappointment give that the company predicted sales of 100,000 units.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is nice to see that Magic Leap lives to fight another day, although it’s less and less likely we will see Magic Leap in game development with the shift towards enterprise computing, where they will compete directly with <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens">Microsoft’s HoloLens</a>. More details of the investment and Magic Leaps rocky recent history check out the <a href="https://youtu.be/TbXPzaVLJw4">video</a> below.</p>
<p align="center"><iframe width="853" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TbXPzaVLJw4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture">[embedded content]</iframe> </p>
<p class="under"> <span class="categories"><a href="https://www.gamefromscratch.com/category/GameDev-News.aspx">GameDev News</a></span> <span class="tags"><a href="https://www.gamefromscratch.com/?tag=/VR" rel="tag">VR</a></span> </p>
<hr>
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https://www.sickgaming.net/blog/2020/05/...s-layoffs/