Magic Leap reportedly slashes jobs and steps away from consumer plans

Post by atulvi » Wed, Apr 22, 2020, 5:39 PM UTC

xiaolingxiao wrote: post #8

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 ). They both made a product…

Post by mattw815 » Wed, Apr 22, 2020, 5:41 PM UTC

gamegoblin wrote: post #5

Ididntdothis wrote: post #3

This is such a weird company. They created big buzz over years and it seems they are just fading away quietly with nothing to show for the money they took in. Reminds me a little of Theranos (although not as criminal). Why do these investors keep pumping so much money into a company that has nothing to show? I thought they do due diligence.

I assume they must have had a killer demo. 1. Put the goggles on some investor's head (in a normal looking room, but with known lighting and spatial properties...). 2. Show them some flashy demo that has some limitations, but promise that with their investment, they will be able to remove those limitations. 3. Investors, who probably lack the deep knowledge of optics to know that those limitations aren't so trivial,…

Post by adam_fallon_ » Wed, Apr 22, 2020, 5:43 PM UTC

Post by cmelbye » Wed, Apr 22, 2020, 5:44 PM UTC

adam_fallon_ wrote: post #75

I sort of always knew it was the job of VCs to hype up their portfolio, but i've never seen it as bare faced as when Benedict Evans was shilling Magic Leap saying things along the lines of "Magic Leap was the coolest thing I'd seen since the iPhone. It's now much cooler than that." and "I’ve had the Magic Leap demo. It was worth going to Florida for." Well that looks a bit silly now doesn't it.

Post by Bud » Wed, Apr 22, 2020, 5:47 PM UTC

taurath wrote: post #64

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's less of a tale of "vaporware" (I mean, Magic Leap has something that actually exists, even if it's not successful) than yet another cautionary tale of startups taking WAAAYYY more money than they need. There was simply no reason for them to need this much cash before they proved market fit. I mean, has there ever been a successful company that gorged on funding before they needed it that eventually becam…

Or: It doesn't matter how many billions you spend on a problem if the core technology isn't there. Scientific discovery advances based on curiosity and open experimentation. That even includes when we "know" how to do the things but its not miniaturized enough yet. Imagine being a company tasked with inventing the walkman 10 or 15 years before it was possible. You'd end up with some crazy designs.