Magic Leap is open to raising more money

Rony
Abovitz, CEO of augmented reality startup Magic
Leap.
Thomson
Reuters

• Magic Leap has taken $2.3 billion and eight years to
  release its augmented reality headset goggles, and its founder
  Rony Abovitz says he is open to raising more capital.
• Abovitz told the Financial Times that Magic Leap is
  taking on tech giants like Apple, which is believed to be
  working on its own AR headset — and that requires
  cash.
• Magic Leap’s headset, the Magic Leap One, tries to
  replace screens like the TV and smartphone by overlaying
  objects onto the real world.
• Initial reviews for the headset on Wednesday were
  pretty mixed.

Magic Leap has raised $2.3 billion (£1.8 billion) to date for its
augmented reality goggles, but its CEO and founder Rony Abovitz
said the company is open to taking a further slug of cash.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Abovitz said: “Any
company like ours attempting to do something at this scale, we
are taking on some of the biggest companies in the world. We are
probably always in the mode of being opportunistic about
capital.”

Abovitz didn’t name names, but the “biggest companies” likely
includes Apple, which is
thought to be working on its own augmented reality headset.
And compared to Apple, Magic Leap is a minnow in terms of
resources.

The FT reports Abovitz as saying Magic Leap still has lots of its
existing capital in reserve, but new cash would help the firm
expand internationally, create new products, and educate
consumers about the concept of augmented reality headsets.

Magic Leap has generated huge amounts of hype and venture capital
for its augmented reality system, which comprises its smart
glasses and an accompanying, circular computer which clips onto
the wearer’s belt. The idea is that the wearer can overlay things
that normally require a screen — like their emails — over the
real world.

In one demo application, Magic Leap showed off the ability to
project a solar system over the real environment, with the wearer
able to interact with 3D objects that sit seamlessly over the
real world.

The Magic Leap headset promises to overlay 3D virtual
objects over the real world.
Magic
Leap

It has taken eight years for the headset to come to market, with

Magic Leap announcing the first batch available for pre-order on
Wednesday for $2,295 (£1,799). That money would buy you two
iPhone X phones, with some change to spare.
Initial reviews were mixed, with some suggesting the headset
didn’t mark a major step forward in augmented reality.

Abovitz told the Financial Times this first set is aimed at
creators like developers, rather than consumers. He hinted that
Magic Leap will be loss-making for some time to come.

“Are we about instant profitability or revenue growth and
innovation? We are studying what other great companies have done
in the past,” he said. “These are the kinds of gears we are now
thinking about.”