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Magic Leap, which never stops raising VC money, just nabbed $461M more

3 points by resiros 9y ago

dmode 9y ago
Investors must be seeing something that we ordinary peasants are missing. Has there been another company that raised so much money PRIOR to a commercial product launch ?
- smt88 9y ago
  This is what people said about Theranos and uBeam. When the upside is high enough, it makes sense to just throw money on it. The risk is almost infinitely high, but the reward is almost infinitely high. Or, at least in the cases of Theranos and uBeam, that was true. Just because investors throw money at something doesn't mean that it's legit. They're gambling, they like the odds, and they have nothing to lose because they get paid either way (and this is only a tiny fraction of what they need to invest anyway).
  - Holomakerbot 9y ago
    People have been comparing magic leap to theranos for years but neglecting the major differences between the two. Magic leap will at least have a product out that does not need to meet stringent FDA guidelines. Magic leap is not being sued by its own investors (they’ve had separate legal issues but not that). And magic leap is not shuttering it’s offices. They’ve revealed their product two months ago and are doing multiple public presentations in 2 weeks. It’s looking more and more likely that a product is actually coming to market and that investors gave them that sum simply because it’s a real product they see a future in.
    - smt88 9y ago
      I agree. My point was only that "investors are giving them money" doesn't prove anything.
      - Holomakerbot 9y ago
        While I somewhat agree, I also think that there is something to the argument that “investors have been giving them money for years”. At a certain point it becomes clear that those investors are probably wiser than the armchair critics who have no insight. I’m sure those investors have heard the criticism a million times before plunking down more cash. If there were a problem the investing would have stopped years ago.
GameOfTrolls 9y ago
Perhaps the biggest sham in the history of VC. I predict a full season of Silicon Valley parody can be dedicated to this.

3 points by resiros 9y ago

Investors must be seeing something that we ordinary peasants are missing. Has there been another company that raised so much money PRIOR to a commercial product launch ?

smt88 9y ago
This is what people said about Theranos and uBeam. When the upside is high enough, it makes sense to just throw money on it. The risk is almost infinitely high, but the reward is almost infinitely high. Or, at least in the cases of Theranos and uBeam, that was true. Just because investors throw money at something doesn't mean that it's legit. They're gambling, they like the odds, and they have nothing to lose because they get paid either way (and this is only a tiny fraction of what they need to invest anyway).
- Holomakerbot 9y ago
  People have been comparing magic leap to theranos for years but neglecting the major differences between the two. Magic leap will at least have a product out that does not need to meet stringent FDA guidelines. Magic leap is not being sued by its own investors (they’ve had separate legal issues but not that). And magic leap is not shuttering it’s offices. They’ve revealed their product two months ago and are doing multiple public presentations in 2 weeks. It’s looking more and more likely that a product is actually coming to market and that investors gave them that sum simply because it’s a real product they see a future in.
  - smt88 9y ago
    I agree. My point was only that "investors are giving them money" doesn't prove anything.
    - Holomakerbot 9y ago
      While I somewhat agree, I also think that there is something to the argument that “investors have been giving them money for years”. At a certain point it becomes clear that those investors are probably wiser than the armchair critics who have no insight. I’m sure those investors have heard the criticism a million times before plunking down more cash. If there were a problem the investing would have stopped years ago.

GameOfTrolls 9y ago

Perhaps the biggest sham in the history of VC. I predict a full season of Silicon Valley parody can be dedicated to this.