Magic Leap
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| Magic Leap | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| Type | Augmented Reality |
| Creator | Rony Abovitz |
| Developer | Magic Leap, Inc. |
| Devices | Magic Leap One, Magic Leap 2 |
| Website | https://www.magicleap.com |
Magic Leap is an augmented reality company founded by Rony Abovitz. It was started in South Florida around 2010 and operated largely in stealth, with the early goal of building a head-worn optical see-through display using light fields.[1] The company raised more than $500 million in its first major rounds from investors including Google, Qualcomm and Andreessen Horowitz, and Bloomberg reported in August 2024 that it had raised at least $3.5 billion in total.[2] It released the Magic Leap One in 2018 and the Magic Leap 2 in 2022. After weak consumer interest, the company pivoted to enterprise customers in 2020,[3] and since 2022 has been majority owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.[4]
In 2026 Magic Leap moved away from selling its own headsets. Direct sales of the Magic Leap 2 ended on March 31, 2026,[5] and on July 9, 2026 the company announced that it was shifting "from building first-party devices to becoming the essential AR ecosystems partner, waveguide supplier, and device integration expert for the technology industry", with a focus on waveguides for AI display glasses.[6] A WARN notice filed with US officials lists 193 layoffs at its headquarters in Plantation, Florida, effective October 1, 2026.[7]
The company's headsets are optical see-through head-mounted displays (OST-HMD) that use a projector to direct light through a transparent waveguide lens into the user's eye, overlaying rendered imagery on the real world. Magic Leap promoted this approach, which it branded dynamic digitized lightfield signal, as different from the stereoscopic 3D used in opaque VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift. Like the HoloLens, Magic Leap's products are intended to blend computer-generated content with the physical environment rather than replace it. According to heise online, the light field approach the company had promoted never reached its shipping product, which used a conventional waveguide display instead.[1]
Hardware
Magic Leap One
The Magic Leap One Creator Edition shipped on August 8, 2018 for $2,295.[8] It was sold to developers and creators rather than to general consumers, and was initially available only in six United States metropolitan areas: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.[8] The system came in three parts: a glasses-like display called the Lightwear, a small wearable computer called the Lightpack, and a handheld controller called the Control.[8] Sales were weak; UploadVR, citing The Information, reported that the headset sold about 6,000 units in its first six months.[9] In August 2023 Magic Leap told customers by email that the device would reach end of life on December 31, 2024. After that date its cloud services were switched off, and because the headset runs a cloud security check every six months, it stopped working.[9]
Magic Leap 2
The Magic Leap 2 launched on September 30, 2022 as an enterprise augmented reality headset, with a base price of $3,299 and higher Developer Pro and Enterprise editions.[10][11] It is smaller and lighter than the original and offers a diagonal field of view of about 70 degrees and a per-eye resolution of 1,440 x 1,760, along with hand tracking and eye tracking.[10] The headset was priced to compete with Microsoft's HoloLens 2 for professional and industrial use.[10]
| Edition | Launch price (US) | Warranty and extras |
|---|---|---|
| Base | $3,299 | One-year limited warranty[11] |
| Developer Pro | From $4,099 | Developer tools, sample projects, enterprise-grade features and monthly early releases; one-year limited warranty[11] |
| Enterprise | From $4,999 | Quarterly software releases manageable through UEM/MDM tools; two-year limited warranty and two years of enterprise access[11] |
Magic Leap ended direct sales of Magic Leap 2 products on March 31, 2026, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Authorized resellers may keep delivering the headset to end customers through December 31, 2026; units sold or delivered after that date are not eligible for Magic Leap customer care support, and their limited warranty is void.[5]
Waveguides and manufacturing
Magic Leap's current business centers on the diffractive waveguide, the optical element that carries the image from a light engine to the eye in see-through AR glasses. In its July 2026 announcement the company described its design as a "surface-relief grating diffractive waveguide architecture" and said it is etched in fewer process steps than competing products.[6] Magic Leap states that its waveguides are designed to work with most commercially available light engines, to support larger fields of view and higher resolution, and to offer a larger eye box; it provides waveguide samples in several field-of-view options.[6]
Production uses a proprietary process the company calls Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography (J-FIL). According to Magic Leap, a polymer template carrying the waveguide pattern is pressed into a liquid, high-refractive-index photoresist and cured with ultraviolet light; the pattern is then transferred into an optical coating on the wafer, and a spin-coated layer smooths the surface to reduce rainbow artifacts. The company's own Lithoflex machines dispense the resist in droplets it describes as "as small as a trillionth of a liter".[12] Finished wafers are tested with projection systems configured to each partner's light engine and field-of-view requirements, then cut into individual waveguides and given edge-blackening treatment.[13] These details are the company's own descriptions.
User interface
Totems
In its early concept work, Magic Leap described "totems": ordinary physical objects that its cameras and software could recognise and augment with virtual functions, rather than embedding sensors in the objects themselves. For example, a small block could be tracked and treated as a computer mouse, with its position, speed and acceleration fed to the display. The company also described projecting virtual interfaces, such as a keyboard, onto real surfaces. Computer vision and object recognition were central to these concepts.[14]
Developer
The Magic Leap SDK was announced on June 2, 2015 during the MIT Technology Review's EmTech Digital conference, with compatibility for both the Unity and Unreal game engines.[15] At the same event Abovitz said the company had spent part of its funding to build a 300,000-square-foot pilot manufacturing facility in Florida for its "photonic lightfield chip".[15] Magic Leap built its own operating system, Lumin OS, for its head-mounted hardware; the Magic Leap 2 later moved to a platform based on the Android Open Source Project.[16]
Partnerships
In May 2024 Magic Leap and Google announced a strategic technology partnership that combined Magic Leap's optics and manufacturing with Google's technology platforms, which the companies described as an expansion of an existing long-standing relationship.[17] On October 29, 2025, at the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, the two companies extended the collaboration with a three-year agreement and showed an AI glasses prototype that pairs Magic Leap's waveguides and optics with Google's Raxium microLED light engine. Magic Leap said the prototype would serve as a prototype and reference design for the Android XR ecosystem.[18][19]
On December 30, 2025, Magic Leap announced an agreement with the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Pegatron, under which Pegatron would use its high-volume manufacturing capacity to support scaled production of Magic Leap's AR components, including its waveguides.[20][7] Road to VR noted that in the two years before its 2026 pivot the company had announced only a hardware partnership with Google and a manufacturing partnership with Pegatron, both centered on licensing and manufacturing waveguides.[7]
Funding
| Date | Round | Amount (US$) | Lead or notable investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 5, 2014 | Series A | $50 million | Not disclosed[21] |
| October 21, 2014 | Series B | $542 million | Led by Google; with Qualcomm Ventures, Legendary Entertainment, KKR, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Andreessen Horowitz and Obvious Ventures[22] |
| February 2, 2016 | Series C | $793.5 million | Led by Alibaba Group; with Google, Qualcomm Ventures, Warner Bros. and others[23] |
| October 17, 2017 | Series D | $502 million | Led by Temasek; with EDBI, Grupo Globo and Janus Henderson[24] |
| March 7, 2018 | Series D (extension) | $461 million | Public Investment Fund ($400 million) and other new investors[25] |
| May 2020 | Not disclosed (reported) | $350 million | Not disclosed[26] |
| October 2021 | Not disclosed | $500 million | Existing investors, at a $2 billion valuation[27] |
| 2022 | Preferred stock and debt | $450 million | Public Investment Fund ($150 million convertible preferred stock, $300 million debt)[4] |
| 2023-2024 | Convertible debt | $750 million | Public Investment Fund ($590 million in 2023, $160 million in 2024)[2] |
TechCrunch put the company's peak valuation at $6.7 billion in 2019, against the $2 billion valuation of the 2021 round.[27] In August 2024 Bloomberg reported that Magic Leap's UK filing said uncertainty about future funding had cast "significant doubt" on its ability to continue as a going concern, and that the company expected to seek further funds in August 2024 and again in January and June 2025.[2]
History
2011: Magic Leap began as Magic Leap Studios, based in Florida, U.S. It initially worked on a graphic novel and a series of feature films.[28] The projects, developed with Weta Workshop, were based on an original property called Hour Blue. The company incorporated in May 2011, and at Comic-Con in July 2011 it released an augmented reality app called Hour Blue.[29]
February 5, 2014: Magic Leap raised 50 million dollars in a Series A round.[21]
March 6, 2014: Graeme Devine joined Magic Leap as Vice President of Games;[30] by June 2015 he was the company's Chief Creative Officer.[15]
October 21, 2014: Magic Leap raised 542 million dollars in a Series B round from Google, Qualcomm Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Legendary Entertainment and Obvious Ventures.[22] Google's Sundar Pichai joined the board, and Qualcomm executive chairman Paul E. Jacobs and Google's Don Harrison joined as board observers.[22]
December 16, 2014: Neal Stephenson, author of Snow Crash, joined Magic Leap as Chief Futurist.[31]
June 2, 2015: The Magic Leap SDK was announced and sign-ups became available on its website.[15]
July 1, 2015: Rio Caraeff, the former chief executive of Vevo, was named Magic Leap's Chief Content Officer, responsible for the company's cloud-based ecosystem and media network.[32]
February 2, 2016: Magic Leap raised 793.5 million dollars in a Series C round led by Alibaba.[23] Alibaba executive vice chairman Joe Tsai took the board seat that came with the investment.[33]
October 17, 2017: Magic Leap raised $502 million in a Series D round led by Singaporean investment firm Temasek.[24]
March 7, 2018: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund provided $400 million of a $461 million extension of the Series D, bringing the company's total funding to more than $2.3 billion.[25]
August 8, 2018: The Magic Leap One Creator Edition shipped for $2,295 to developers in six U.S. metropolitan areas.[8]
April 22, 2020: Magic Leap announced it would lay off around 1,000 employees, roughly half its workforce, and drop its consumer product plans to refocus on enterprise customers; founder and CEO Rony Abovitz attributed the cuts in part to the COVID-19 crisis.[34]
May 28, 2020: Rony Abovitz announced he would step down as CEO.[26]
July 7, 2020: Magic Leap named Peggy Johnson, formerly Executive Vice President of Business Development at Microsoft, as its new CEO; she began the role on August 1, 2020.[3][35]
October 2021: Magic Leap raised $500 million from existing investors at a $2 billion valuation, well below its earlier peak valuation.[27]
2022: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund gained majority control of Magic Leap through a roughly $450 million deal, taking its ownership above 50 percent and the right to appoint four of the company's eight board directors.[4]
September 30, 2022: The Magic Leap 2 launched as an enterprise augmented reality headset, starting at $3,299.[10][11]
October 25, 2023: Magic Leap named Ross Rosenberg as CEO, effective November 1, 2023, replacing Peggy Johnson after the company's pivot to enterprise.[36][37] Rosenberg had previously been an operating executive at Bain Capital and a senior executive at Belden.[36]
May 30, 2024: Magic Leap announced a strategic technology partnership with Google to supply transparent optics, eyepieces and manufacturing expertise for augmented reality devices; the collaboration covered display systems and optics and later extended to prototype glasses that serve as a reference design for Google's Android XR ecosystem.[17][19]
July 2024: Bloomberg reported that Magic Leap had cut another 75 jobs, eliminating its sales and marketing departments, to shift its focus to licensing its technology.[2]
December 31, 2024: The Magic Leap One reached end of life and its cloud services were discontinued.[9]
October 29, 2025: At the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Magic Leap extended its Google partnership through a three-year agreement and showed an AI glasses prototype built with Google.[18]
December 30, 2025: Magic Leap signed a manufacturing agreement with Pegatron for AR glasses components, including waveguides.[20]
March 31, 2026: Direct sales of the Magic Leap 2 ended.[5]
July 9, 2026: Magic Leap announced its pivot from first-party devices to supplying waveguides and device integration services for AI display glasses.[6]
July 2026: A WARN notice disclosed 193 layoffs at the Plantation, Florida headquarters, effective October 1, 2026. Affected roles include software, hardware, UX and design, product management, manufacturing engineering, quality, technical program management and several senior engineering and executive positions.[7][38]
September 9, 2026: Scott Carden, previously senior vice president of display engineering and manufacturing, was promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Ross Rosenberg had left the CEO role and remained on the board, and the company said a search for a new CEO was under way.[39]
Current status
As of September 2026, Magic Leap describes itself as a supplier of waveguides and a device integration partner for companies building AI display glasses, not as a maker of its own headsets.[6][39] Its headquarters is in Plantation, Florida,[39] and it has said it also has offices in Israel and Switzerland.[18] The company has no permanent chief executive: Chief Operating Officer Scott Carden oversees the operating plan and the waveguide engineering and manufacturing operations while the CEO search continues.[39] The 193 layoffs disclosed in July 2026 take effect on October 1, 2026.[7] UC Today reported that the company had not yet disclosed the customer commitments behind the pivot or how quickly the waveguide and integration business could replace the revenue once attached to its own hardware.[38] Authorized resellers may deliver remaining Magic Leap 2 units to customers through December 31, 2026.[5]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Josef Erl (2025-07-18). "Magic Leap: How the dream of miracle AR glasses came to nothing". heise online. https://www.heise.de/en/background/Magic-Leap-How-the-dream-of-miracle-AR-glasses-came-to-nothing-10492548.html. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Mark Bergen (2024-08-06). "Saudi PIF Has Poured $750 Million Into Depleted AR Firm Magic Leap". Bloomberg (via Yahoo Finance). https://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudi-pif-poured-750-million-125838503.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Microsoft exec Peggy Johnson joins troubled augmented reality start-up Magic Leap as CEO". CNBC. July 7, 2020. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/07/microsoft-exec-peggy-johnson-joins-ar-start-up-magic-leap-as-ceo.html. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Saudi Arabia Gains Majority Stake in Magic Leap in $450M Deal". Road to VR. January 3, 2023. https://www.roadtovr.com/saudi-arabia-majority-control-magic-leap-450m/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 "Terms of Sale for Magic Leap 2". Magic Leap. 2026-02-19. https://www.magicleap.com/legal/terms-of-sale. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 "Magic Leap Accelerates the Future of AI Display Glasses with Waveguide Expertise". Magic Leap. 2026-07-09. https://www.magicleap.com/newsroom/magic-leap-accelerates-the-future-of-ai-display-glasses-with-waveguide-expertise. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Scott Hayden (2026-07-20). "Magic Leap Cuts Nearly 200 Jobs as AR Pioneer Pivots Into Waveguide Supplier". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/magic-leap-lay-off-2026-waveguide-pivot/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Magic Leap One Creator Edition Ships Today for $2,295". Variety. August 8, 2018. https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/how-to-buy-magic-leap-one-1202899009/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 David Heaney (2023-08-30). "Magic Leap 1 AR Headsets Will "Cease To Function" After 2024". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/magic-leap-1-cease-to-function-2025/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Ben Lang (July 12, 2022). "Magic Leap 2 Starting Price Positioned Slightly Less Than HoloLens 2, Release Date Set for September". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/magic-leap-2-release-date-price-specs/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Ian Hamilton (July 12, 2022). "Magic Leap 2 On Sale To General Public In September For $3,299". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/magic-leap-price-starts-3k/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography". Magic Leap. https://www.magicleap.com/jet-and-flash-imprint-lithography. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Waveguide Manufacturing". Magic Leap. https://www.magicleap.com/waveguide-manufacturing. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Systems and methods for augmented reality (US20160259404A1)". Google Patents. 2016. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20160259404A1/en. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Josh Constine (June 2, 2015). "Magic Leap Announces Its Augmented Reality Developer Platform". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2015/06/02/magic-leap-platform/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Magic Leap AOSP Tools". Magic Leap Developer Documentation. 2024. https://developer-docs.magicleap.cloud/docs/guides/developer-tools/lumin-aosp-tools/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Magic Leap and Google Are Entering into a Partnership to Advance the Potential of XR Technologies". Magic Leap. May 30, 2024. https://www.magicleap.com/newsroom/magic-leap-and-google-partnership. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 "Magic Leap Showcases AR Expertise in Glasses Prototype, Extends Google Partnership". Magic Leap. 2025-10-29. https://www.magicleap.com/newsroom/magic-leap-showcases-ar-expertise-in-glasses-prototype-extends-google-partnership. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Scott Hayden (2025-10-29). "Magic Leap Announces Multi-year AR Hardware Partnership with Google". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/magic-leap-google-ar-hardware-partnership-prototype/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Magic Leap and Pegatron Enter Agreement for Production of AR Glasses Components". Magic Leap. 2025-12-30. https://www.magicleap.com/newsroom/magic-leap-and-pegatron-enter-agreement-for-production-of-ar-glasses-components. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Holden Page (2018-08-27). "A Timeline Of Investor Interest In AR Startup Magic Leap, Which Has Raised $2.3B". Crunchbase News. https://news.crunchbase.com/venture/a-timeline-of-investor-interest-in-ar-startup-magic-leap-which-has-raised-2-3b/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Magic Leap Raises $542 Million in Series B Funding". PR Newswire. Magic Leap. 2014-10-21. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/magic-leap-raises-542-million-in-series-b-funding-918706813.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Magic Leap Announces $793.5 million in New Funding". PR Newswire. Magic Leap. 2016-02-02. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/magic-leap-announces-7935-million-in-new-funding-300213369.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Megan Rose Dickey (2017-10-17). "Magic Leap confirms $502 million Series D round". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/17/magic-leap-confirms-502-million-series-d-round/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lucas Matney (2018-03-07). "Magic Leap raises $461 million in fresh funding from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/07/magic-leap-raises-461-million-in-fresh-funding-from-the-kingdom-of-saudi-arabia/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lucas Matney (May 28, 2020). "Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz is out". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/28/magic-leap-ceo-rony-abovitz-is-out/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Lucas Matney (October 11, 2021). "Seven years after raising $542M at a $2B valuation, Magic Leap raises $500M at a $2B valuation". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/11/seven-years-after-raising-542m-at-a-2b-valuation-magic-leap-raises-500m-at-a-2b-valuation/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "A Brief History Of Magic Leap, The Most Secretive AR Company On Earth". AR Post. July 12, 2018. https://arpost.co/2018/07/12/brief-history-magic-leap/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ Sean Hollister (2014-11-19). "How Magic Leap Is Secretly Creating a New Alternate Reality". Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/how-magic-leap-is-secretly-creating-a-new-alternate-rea-1660441103. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Video Game Leader Graeme Devine Joins Magic Leap". PR Newswire. Magic Leap. 2014-03-06. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/video-game-leader-graeme-devine-joins-magic-leap-248774961.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Magic Leap Appoints Author Neal Stephenson As 'Chief Futurist'". PR Newswire. Magic Leap. 2014-12-16. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/magic-leap-appoints-author-neal-stephenson-as-chief-futurist-300010260.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Mona Lalwani (2015-07-01). "Magic Leap adds former Vevo CEO to its mysterious team". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2015/07/01/magic-leap-adds-former-vevo-ceo-to-its-mysterious-team/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Jon Russell (2016-02-01). "Magic Leap Adds Alibaba's Jack Ma To Board As New Funding Pushes Valuation To $5B". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/01/magic-leap-adds-alibaba-founder-jack-ma-to-board/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Magic Leap Reportedly Lays Off 1,000, or Half Its Workforce, Halting Consumer Product Plans". Variety. April 22, 2020. https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/magic-leap-layoffs-1000-cuts-consumer-product-plans-1234587583/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ "Magic Leap has a new chief executive and it's former Microsoft exec Peggy Johnson". TechCrunch. July 7, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/07/magic-leap-has-a-new-chief-executive-and-its-former-microsoft-exec-peggy-johnson/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 36.0 36.1 "Magic Leap Appoints Ross Rosenberg as Chief Executive Officer". Magic Leap. 2023-10-25. https://www.magicleap.com/newsroom/magic-leap-appoints-ross-rosenberg-as-chief-executive-officer. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Ben Lang (October 30, 2023). "Magic Leap Shakes up Leadership with New CEO". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/magic-leap-ceo-ross-rosenberg-peggy-johnson/. Retrieved 2026-06-14.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 Christopher Carey (2026-08-03). "Magic Leap to Cut 193 Jobs as It Shifts From AR Headsets to Waveguide Supply". UC Today. https://www.uctoday.com/devices-workspace-tech/magic-leap-layoffs-waveguide-strategy/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 "Magic Leap Promotes Scott Carden to Chief Operating Officer, Accelerating Partners' Path to AI Display Glasses through Waveguide Innovation". Magic Leap. 2026-09-09. https://www.magicleap.com/newsroom/magic-leap-promotes-scott-carden-to-chief-operating-officer. Retrieved 2026-09-29.