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Magic Leap secures US$793.5m to develop mixed-reality lightfield device
POSTED 03 Feb 2016 . BY Tom Anstey
The Magic Leap device shoots images into the user’s eyes Credit: 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.
Google launches virtual reality division POSTED 14 Jan 2016. BY Tom Anstey Google has launched its own virtual reality computing division, appointing executive Clay
Bavor to run the new arm of the technology giant.
Oculus Rift gets commercial release date POSTED 07 Jan 2016. BY Tom Anstey Oculus Rift developer, Oculus VR, has said made the consumer version of the virtual reality
technology available to pre-order for a commercial release in March.
Mattel and Google tie-up reimagines View-Master as affordable VR alternative POSTED 07 Dec 2015. BY Tom Anstey View-Master – a popular children's toy since the 1960s – could be the next big step in
affordable, commercial virtual reality following a tie-up between Mattel and Google to
create a new iteration of the device based on VR using smartphones.
Anna Bjurstam has left her role as Wellness Pioneer at Six Senses Hotels and Resorts and
launched a new wellness, longevity and “consciousness consultancy” called Wahayla.
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, has opened today (10 July) in the Northwest of England with a
1,715sq m Fairmont Spa that has been designed using a ‘Wellness without Walls’ concept.
Wellness hotels generating less than US$1 million (€932,700, £785,200) – or 10 per cent of
total revenue from wellness and leisure – recorded the strongest RevPAR and TRevPAR growth
in 2025 across categories when compared with 2024, according to the latest Wellness Real
Estate Report by RLA Global, produced in partnership with P and L benchmarking firm HotStats.
Lefay Resorts, the portfolio of two luxury wellness properties in Italy, has added emotional
dance classes and group cold plunge sessions in response to market demand for social
connection.
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
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Magic Leap secures US$793.5m to develop mixed-reality lightfield device
POSTED 03 Feb 2016 . BY Tom Anstey
The Magic Leap device shoots images into the user’s eyes Credit: 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.
Google launches virtual reality division POSTED 14 Jan 2016. BY Tom Anstey Google has launched its own virtual reality computing division, appointing executive Clay
Bavor to run the new arm of the technology giant.
Oculus Rift gets commercial release date POSTED 07 Jan 2016. BY Tom Anstey Oculus Rift developer, Oculus VR, has said made the consumer version of the virtual reality
technology available to pre-order for a commercial release in March.
Mattel and Google tie-up reimagines View-Master as affordable VR alternative POSTED 07 Dec 2015. BY Tom Anstey View-Master – a popular children's toy since the 1960s – could be the next big step in
affordable, commercial virtual reality following a tie-up between Mattel and Google to
create a new iteration of the device based on VR using smartphones.
Anna Bjurstam has left her role as Wellness Pioneer at Six Senses Hotels and Resorts and
launched a new wellness, longevity and “consciousness consultancy” called Wahayla.
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, has opened today (10 July) in the Northwest of England with a
1,715sq m Fairmont Spa that has been designed using a ‘Wellness without Walls’ concept.
Wellness hotels generating less than US$1 million (€932,700, £785,200) – or 10 per cent of
total revenue from wellness and leisure – recorded the strongest RevPAR and TRevPAR growth
in 2025 across categories when compared with 2024, according to the latest Wellness Real
Estate Report by RLA Global, produced in partnership with P and L benchmarking firm HotStats.
Lefay Resorts, the portfolio of two luxury wellness properties in Italy, has added emotional
dance classes and group cold plunge sessions in response to market demand for social
connection.
In the fast-paced world of fitness and wellness, where high-intensity workouts push us to
our limits and the sweat pours, the importance of efficient recovery cannot be overstated. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
TechnoAlpin Indoor TechnoAlpin is the world leader for snowmaking systems. With the Indoor snow division, TechnoAlpin c [more...]
