Magic Leap, the renowned AR headset vendor, has recently received a staggering $590 million in funding from Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund. This injection of capital has propelled Magic Leap's valuation to over $4.5 billion, establishing a strong foundation for the company to continue its mission of delivering cutting-edge XR solutions for enterprises.
With this newfound support, Magic Leap is gearing up to take on tech giants like Apple and Meta. The XR headset market is on the verge of a major shakeup as Apple prepares to unveil its highly anticipated Vision Pro headset next month.
Spatial computing has already become the buzzword in the XR industry, attracting numerous new players into the mix.
Magic Leap, having undergone significant leadership changes, is now poised to enter 2024 with a fresh burst of momentum. Last October, Ross Rosenberg took the reins as the company's new CEO, succeeding Peggy Johnson. Rosenberg's appointment signifies a strategic shift towards the enterprise market and a transformation of Magic Leap's business model to better support the adoption of its AR platform technologies. With a remarkable background in operations, strategy, and marketing, Rosenberg brings a wealth of experience to lead this transformation, having worked with notable companies such as Bain Capital, First Solar, Danaher, and Belden.
In a recent statement, Rosenberg expressed his excitement about the future of Magic Leap, saying, "As companies begin to see true ROI from deploying AR technologies, there is now a clear need state that Magic Leap is capable of solving for. I am incredibly excited to begin working with the world-class team at Magic Leap and want to thank Peggy for her leadership in guiding the company through a critical phase of its development."
Under Johnson's leadership, Magic Leap successfully repositioned itself to cater to the enterprise market, targeting industries such as healthcare, design, manufacturing, and collaboration. Her tenure saw the launch of the highly acclaimed Magic Leap 2, which garnered praise within the XR community.
Reflecting on her departure, Johnson shared, "Having accomplished so much of what I set out to do at Magic Leap, I felt the time had come to transition leadership to a new CEO who can guide the company through its next period of growth. I'm incredibly proud of the leadership team we've built at Magic Leap and want to sincerely thank all of the employees for their work in helping to successfully reorient the company to the enterprise market."
Meanwhile, Apple's imminent release of the Vision Pro headset has set the industry abuzz. The tech giant has confirmed that the MR headset will hit the shelves on February 2, with pre-orders starting on January 19. Initially, the device will be available in US stores and for US online customers, followed by availability in other regions.
The Vision Pro, priced at $3,499 for the 256GB model, promises a spectacular experience. Boasting a high-resolution, 23 million-pixel display spread across two micro-OLED lenses, the headset offers a 2-hour battery life, an immersive camera for capturing spatial audio, photos, and videos for seamless sharing, synchronization with iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, a light seal for enhanced immersion, a LiDAR scanner, and a TrueDepth camera. Adding to its allure, the Vision Pro runs on a custom operating system, VisionOS, specifically designed by Apple for MR applications.
Get ready for a thrilling battle in the AR arena as Magic Leap and Apple vie for dominance. With Magic Leap's significant funding boost and a new visionary at the helm, the stage is set for an exciting year ahead. Stay tuned for the latest updates on the clash of the titans in the XR industry!
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