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They're exploring a sale valued at $10B, but it's doubtful who would have the appetite to buy it at this valuation. Google declined a follow on round recently,

They're exploring a sale valued at $10B, but it's doubtful who would have the appetite to buy it at this valuation. Google declined a follow on round recently, Apple has been developing their own tech for years, and Facebook has quietly stepped away from AR/VR. Magic Leap is reminiscent of another company with "Magic" in its name: General Magic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Magic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Magic). They both made a product that evangelize the form factor in the public's (or some subset of it) eye, but alas is way ahead of its time in terms of tech, and content. It's easy to hate on Magic Leap and its self aggrandizing marketing. Although I personally never bought into the hype of Magic Leap in particular, they did inspire a whole generation of developers in a way that hasn't been done since the release of the original iPhone.

cbsks 7y ago
> Facebook has quietly stepped away from AR/VR Has Facebook de-prioritized Oculus? I haven't heard any news, but I'm also not following it closely.
- Kiro 7y ago
  Not at all. xiaolingxiao is simply wrong or didn't know Oculus is Facebook.
devindotcom 7y ago
They did? I'm not a developer myself so I may have missed out on this, but I never sensed any enthusiasm about the platform. ARKit certainly brought a few people into that world, but I've never felt that Magic Leap inspired anything but skepticism practically since launch.
strangeloops85 7y ago
Not sure if Facebook is stepping away from AR/VR. Oculus/ Facebook reality labs is still hiring plenty of folks in the optics/ photonics world.. even making announcements over the last week on open positions.
- Rochetshipz 7y ago
  This is an uninformed opinion yeah. Facebook is recruiting HEAVILY and appears to have the published state-of-the-art research in the field. They also recently acquired a hot startup in the field, Scape based in London, and kickstarted Facebook Reality Labs in London which is hiring. They are also hiring in Seattle. If someone wants to look how Microsoft is also doing from a engineering PoV, watch this cool video from Marc Pollefys from ETH Zurich/Microsoft. It was made for a technical-minded scene and shows the behind-the-scene, some potential issues (privacy) and where it is going next https://vimeo.com/380218937 https://vimeo.com/380218937
- floren 7y ago
  Based on job postings I've seen in biomedical science-related fields, I think Facebook is pushing for AR contact lenses.
bitmover 7y ago
Do you have a source for Facebook stepping away from AR/VR? I hadn’t heard that.
cfontes 7y ago
Oculus Quest has been a major hit, do you have any info on facebook walking away from VR? I just don't think they are with the amount of work they are doing on the Oculus ecosystem atm.
- seanmcdirmid 7y ago
  Ya, I don’t think Facebook is stepping away from VR at all, or even AR for that matter. Quest has been a huge hit during quarantine, too bad they’ve been hard to get ahold of.
  - runawaybottle 7y ago
    Every Quest was sold out during the holiday season and was being sold for double the price on eBay/Amazon during Christmas. It’s an incredible hit.
- bredren 7y ago
  Yes, a quick survey of posts in /r/virtualreality revealed this thread [1] asking about a "missing" media blitz on the Quest. The reaction was that the demand for the device so outpaces supply Facebook shouldn't advertise it. But the OP points out something I hadn't though of, which is that VR represents a potential opportunity in the times of social distancing. If Coronavirus becomes like the normal flu, where seasonal vaccines offer only partial coverage[2]--social distancing will become something people get very good at and want to maximize the bounds of experience in. Thus, if anything Facebook would want to increase its investment and accelerate roadmaps for the technology. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/fqk3dd/facebook_spends_2_billion_buying_out_oculus_and/ https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/fqk3dd/face... [2] This hypothesis is based on this report from late yesterday and is currently not yet getting media attention: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22941012 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22941012
  - the_duke 7y ago
    > VR represents a potential opportunity in the times of social distancing. I always assumed that Facebook is playing the long game with VR, with the end goal being a re-imagined Second Life. They need to wait until the technology is cheap/mature enough though, which is probably 5-10 years out.
lilSebastian 7y ago
> It's easy to hate on Magic Leap and its self aggrandizing marketing You mean the fake video demos they distributed?
e-_pusher 7y ago
Not sure why you are claiming that Facebook has stepped away from AR/VR. I know that Facebook is still hiring quite heavily in the Seattle area for AR/VR HW roles.
- snovv_crash 7y ago
  Facebook/Oculus is also heavily recruiting in Zurich.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
    I guess "heavy" is subjective. But they're also recruiting in LA.
- skilesare 7y ago
  I use my quest every day and my kids love it.
- willis936 7y ago
  My rift CV1 just got a firmware update this week.
istorical 7y ago
If you look at any of Mark Zuckerberg's statements, it's clear he still believes in pushing more and more funding to AR/VR, not sure where you're getting your info.
atulvi 7y ago
Facebook has not stepped away from VR. Oculus and Valve are the industry leaders right now. Please stop spreading misinformation.
tanilama 7y ago
Will be surprised to see someone would even buy them with 1B...They are basically worthless at this moment. And what good has this inspiration brings to the economy then? It is funny to even call it an inspiration since for a very long period of time it is just rendered CG for marketing.
draw_down 7y ago
I don't think it needs to be a matter of "hate" to observe that I've heard about this company so much but they haven't shipped hardly anything. I don't need to hate them (or anyone) to say that.
microtherion 7y ago
> They're exploring a sale valued at $10B, but it's doubtful who would have the appetite to buy it at this valuation. One of the sentences in the article that leapt out at me from the article was "Magic Leap is one of the most well-capitalized consumer hardware startups ever, having raised more than $2.6 billion from investors": * "most well-capitalized" sounds very awkward. * How much they raised is hardly indicative of how well-capitalized they are at the moment (in the sense of runway), without knowing how much of it they spent already. * The article makes it sound like huge investments are all upside. But they carry a significant downside as well, because all those investors wanting to see a return will significantly increase the price tag if the company wants to sell itself.
- umanwizard 7y ago
  Neither “most well-capitalized” nor “best-capitalized” sounds particularly awkward to me. I’d probably use them interchangeably. (American English native speaker)
sytelus 7y ago
Oculus was sold for $2B in 2014. Adjusting for S&P, I think it would have been sold for $4B today. MagicLeap has much more difficult and stronger tech so $10B seems reasonable. On back of the napkin, I would estimate ~500 people working for 4-5 years to build something like MagicLeap. So if a company wants to do this, they should be prepared to foot the bill of approximately $1B and wait for that many years. The problem, however,is this. AR tech is simply not there yet. Glasses are becoming smaller but resolution sucks and we don't know if headaches will ever go away for more than an hour usage. I would estimate another 10 years of intense development before they are ready to compete with 6X cheaper 4K monitors in rendering quality. It's a long game and doesn't work without determined leader like Zuck willing to drain billions on it.
- dannyw 6y ago
  It’s absolutely crazy to say ML has better tech. They have more experimental technology that proves to be nothing more than a cheap gimmick, based on descriptions of everyone who managed to test it for an extensive period of time. Rony Abovitz is closer to Adam Neumann than Steve Jobs.
Impossible 7y ago
Facebook is one of the most active players in the space, Oculus Quest is the best selling VR hardware outside of PSVR and continues to sell out regularly. Facebook is also working on new VR applications and new VR hardware. Not sure where you got the impression that they've quietly stepped away when they are actively working on new products... Maybe the marketing feels reduced?
SahAssar 7y ago
> inspire a whole generation of developers in a way that hasn't been done since the release of the original iPhone. I don't really think this is true. Most of what I've heard about magic leap from developers has been skepticism, while the hype seems to have been from VCs and journalists. Any particular examples of the enthusiasm you've seen?
blueboo 7y ago
> Although I personally never bought into the hype of Magic Leap in particular, they did inspire a whole generation of developers in a way that hasn't been done since the release of the original iPhone What on Earth is this claim? What XR developer was inspired by Magic Leap in any way other than the encouragement to bilk VCs out of their money?
jameslevy 7y ago
Not only is AR/VR not going away, but this time period is likely to be looked back at as a turning point for the technology where it began to slowly leave the "toy" stage out of necessity. Magic Leap spent too much money on tech and a market that weren't ready.
2OEH8eoCRo0 7y ago
I feel like Google needs it most. They killed Daydream and don't have an alternative and Apple is moving towards a wearable AR device. Edit: I'm ready for Apple to pull a rabbit out of a hat again in a year with an AR wearable- I think the iPhone SE was strategic because AR glasses and an expensive phone and a watch is a tough sell. Cheap but powerful phone in pocket and a wearable makes more sense to me.

cbsks 7y ago

> Facebook has quietly stepped away from AR/VR Has Facebook de-prioritized Oculus? I haven't heard any news, but I'm also not following it closely.

Kiro 7y ago
Not at all. xiaolingxiao is simply wrong or didn't know Oculus is Facebook.

devindotcom 7y ago

They did? I'm not a developer myself so I may have missed out on this, but I never sensed any enthusiasm about the platform. ARKit certainly brought a few people into that world, but I've never felt that Magic Leap inspired anything but skepticism practically since launch.

strangeloops85 7y ago

Not sure if Facebook is stepping away from AR/VR. Oculus/ Facebook reality labs is still hiring plenty of folks in the optics/ photonics world.. even making announcements over the last week on open positions.

Rochetshipz 7y ago
This is an uninformed opinion yeah. Facebook is recruiting HEAVILY and appears to have the published state-of-the-art research in the field. They also recently acquired a hot startup in the field, Scape based in London, and kickstarted Facebook Reality Labs in London which is hiring. They are also hiring in Seattle. If someone wants to look how Microsoft is also doing from a engineering PoV, watch this cool video from Marc Pollefys from ETH Zurich/Microsoft. It was made for a technical-minded scene and shows the behind-the-scene, some potential issues (privacy) and where it is going next https://vimeo.com/380218937 https://vimeo.com/380218937
floren 7y ago
Based on job postings I've seen in biomedical science-related fields, I think Facebook is pushing for AR contact lenses.

bitmover 7y ago

Do you have a source for Facebook stepping away from AR/VR? I hadn’t heard that.

cfontes 7y ago

Oculus Quest has been a major hit, do you have any info on facebook walking away from VR? I just don't think they are with the amount of work they are doing on the Oculus ecosystem atm.

seanmcdirmid 7y ago
Ya, I don’t think Facebook is stepping away from VR at all, or even AR for that matter. Quest has been a huge hit during quarantine, too bad they’ve been hard to get ahold of.
- runawaybottle 7y ago
  Every Quest was sold out during the holiday season and was being sold for double the price on eBay/Amazon during Christmas. It’s an incredible hit.
bredren 7y ago
Yes, a quick survey of posts in /r/virtualreality revealed this thread [1] asking about a "missing" media blitz on the Quest. The reaction was that the demand for the device so outpaces supply Facebook shouldn't advertise it. But the OP points out something I hadn't though of, which is that VR represents a potential opportunity in the times of social distancing. If Coronavirus becomes like the normal flu, where seasonal vaccines offer only partial coverage[2]--social distancing will become something people get very good at and want to maximize the bounds of experience in. Thus, if anything Facebook would want to increase its investment and accelerate roadmaps for the technology. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/fqk3dd/facebook_spends_2_billion_buying_out_oculus_and/ https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/fqk3dd/face... [2] This hypothesis is based on this report from late yesterday and is currently not yet getting media attention: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22941012 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22941012
- the_duke 7y ago
  > VR represents a potential opportunity in the times of social distancing. I always assumed that Facebook is playing the long game with VR, with the end goal being a re-imagined Second Life. They need to wait until the technology is cheap/mature enough though, which is probably 5-10 years out.

lilSebastian 7y ago

> It's easy to hate on Magic Leap and its self aggrandizing marketing You mean the fake video demos they distributed?

e-_pusher 7y ago

Not sure why you are claiming that Facebook has stepped away from AR/VR. I know that Facebook is still hiring quite heavily in the Seattle area for AR/VR HW roles.

snovv_crash 7y ago
Facebook/Oculus is also heavily recruiting in Zurich.
- onlyrealcuzzo 7y ago
  I guess "heavy" is subjective. But they're also recruiting in LA.
skilesare 7y ago
I use my quest every day and my kids love it.
willis936 7y ago
My rift CV1 just got a firmware update this week.

istorical 7y ago

If you look at any of Mark Zuckerberg's statements, it's clear he still believes in pushing more and more funding to AR/VR, not sure where you're getting your info.

atulvi 7y ago

Facebook has not stepped away from VR. Oculus and Valve are the industry leaders right now. Please stop spreading misinformation.

tanilama 7y ago

Will be surprised to see someone would even buy them with 1B...They are basically worthless at this moment. And what good has this inspiration brings to the economy then? It is funny to even call it an inspiration since for a very long period of time it is just rendered CG for marketing.

draw_down 7y ago

I don't think it needs to be a matter of "hate" to observe that I've heard about this company so much but they haven't shipped hardly anything. I don't need to hate them (or anyone) to say that.

microtherion 7y ago

> They're exploring a sale valued at $10B, but it's doubtful who would have the appetite to buy it at this valuation. One of the sentences in the article that leapt out at me from the article was "Magic Leap is one of the most well-capitalized consumer hardware startups ever, having raised more than $2.6 billion from investors": * "most well-capitalized" sounds very awkward. * How much they raised is hardly indicative of how well-capitalized they are at the moment (in the sense of runway), without knowing how much of it they spent already. * The article makes it sound like huge investments are all upside. But they carry a significant downside as well, because all those investors wanting to see a return will significantly increase the price tag if the company wants to sell itself.

umanwizard 7y ago
Neither “most well-capitalized” nor “best-capitalized” sounds particularly awkward to me. I’d probably use them interchangeably. (American English native speaker)

sytelus 7y ago

Oculus was sold for $2B in 2014. Adjusting for S&P, I think it would have been sold for $4B today. MagicLeap has much more difficult and stronger tech so $10B seems reasonable. On back of the napkin, I would estimate ~500 people working for 4-5 years to build something like MagicLeap. So if a company wants to do this, they should be prepared to foot the bill of approximately $1B and wait for that many years. The problem, however,is this. AR tech is simply not there yet. Glasses are becoming smaller but resolution sucks and we don't know if headaches will ever go away for more than an hour usage. I would estimate another 10 years of intense development before they are ready to compete with 6X cheaper 4K monitors in rendering quality. It's a long game and doesn't work without determined leader like Zuck willing to drain billions on it.

dannyw 6y ago
It’s absolutely crazy to say ML has better tech. They have more experimental technology that proves to be nothing more than a cheap gimmick, based on descriptions of everyone who managed to test it for an extensive period of time. Rony Abovitz is closer to Adam Neumann than Steve Jobs.

Impossible 7y ago

Facebook is one of the most active players in the space, Oculus Quest is the best selling VR hardware outside of PSVR and continues to sell out regularly. Facebook is also working on new VR applications and new VR hardware. Not sure where you got the impression that they've quietly stepped away when they are actively working on new products... Maybe the marketing feels reduced?

SahAssar 7y ago

> inspire a whole generation of developers in a way that hasn't been done since the release of the original iPhone. I don't really think this is true. Most of what I've heard about magic leap from developers has been skepticism, while the hype seems to have been from VCs and journalists. Any particular examples of the enthusiasm you've seen?

blueboo 7y ago

> Although I personally never bought into the hype of Magic Leap in particular, they did inspire a whole generation of developers in a way that hasn't been done since the release of the original iPhone What on Earth is this claim? What XR developer was inspired by Magic Leap in any way other than the encouragement to bilk VCs out of their money?

jameslevy 7y ago

Not only is AR/VR not going away, but this time period is likely to be looked back at as a turning point for the technology where it began to slowly leave the "toy" stage out of necessity. Magic Leap spent too much money on tech and a market that weren't ready.

2OEH8eoCRo0 7y ago

I feel like Google needs it most. They killed Daydream and don't have an alternative and Apple is moving towards a wearable AR device. Edit: I'm ready for Apple to pull a rabbit out of a hat again in a year with an AR wearable- I think the iPhone SE was strategic because AR glasses and an expensive phone and a watch is a tough sell. Cheap but powerful phone in pocket and a wearable makes more sense to me.