UPDATED 20:38 EDT / MAY 21 2020

EMERGING TECH

Troubled augmented reality company Magic Leap raises $350M

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.

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.

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.”

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 faiing 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.

Its second incarnation, the Magic Leap 1, retails for $2,995 and offers an Enterprise Suite that includes two years of dedicated support, device management tools, fast device replacements and extended warranties.

Whether Magic Leap 1 has found a willing audience is unknown, but the company predictably remains positive on its prospects. “We are making very good progress in our healthcare, enterprise, and defense deals,” Magic Leap Chief Executive Officer Rony Abovitz told staff in the memo. “As these deals close, we will be able to announce them.”

The company has long promised great things but has failed to deliver. Its hardware offering was so long in coming to market that it was once considered potential vaporware. The shift to enterprise given the lack of sizable consumer market makes sense but the company faces stiff competition.

Magic Leap’s main competitor is Microsoft’s Corp.’s HoloLens 2. Magic Leap does have the advantage of being slightly cheaper, but Microsoft already has a far larger user base for its product with an established track record beginning with the original HoloLens in 2016.

Including the new funding, Magic Leap has raised $2.95 billion to date. Previous investors include NTT DoCoMo with $280 million in April 2019 along with AT&T, Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Alibaba Group, Google and JP Morgan Chase.

Image: Magic Leap

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