AR Business, Investments, & Executive Moves
News: ODG Patents Headed to Auction Block After Failed Magic Leap Acquisition Deal, Report Says
Despite the hype and potential of immersive computing, the augmented reality industry is showing that it is not invincible, as another AR hardware maker, this time Osterhout Design Group (ODG), is reportedly going out of business.
Exclusive: AR Startup Meta Company Shuts Down Amid Asset Foreclosure Sale, Patent Fight, & Executive Departures
The last time we heard from Meta, the makers of the Meta 2 augmented reality headset, things looked pretty bleak. Now, as several new facts have come to light, we have confirmation regarding the beleaguered company's fate: Meta is done.
News: AT&T Expands Partnership with Magic Leap to Focus on Enterprise AR, Promises Nationwide 5G by 2020
With CES in full swing, it seemed like Magic Leap would have little to announce at the major tech event, but it turns out that one of its partners has weighed in with a rather substantial update regarding the company.
News: Nreal Banks $15 Million in Funding to Produce Fashionable Smartglasses with Plane Detection & Object Recognition
The emerging narrative as CES begins is that consumer-grade smartglasses require a heavy compromise in functionality in order to arrive at a form factor and price point that appeal to mainstream customers.
Hands-On: Snap's Non-Creepy, Fashionable Spectacles Wearable Camera Proves We're Ready for Mainstream AR Smartglasses
The year 2018 was a rough one for Snap, the company behind the Snapchat app and the Spectacles wearable camera device. From executive departures to reports of slowed user growth, the company that once spurned Facebook's multibillion-dollar advances is now facing a moment of truth as it stares down its uncertain future.
News: The 10 Biggest AR Investments of 2018
Last year's augmented reality investments roundup was impressive. And in 2018, the dollars flowing toward AR haven't decreased, as venture capitalists and strategic investors continue to aggressively fund AR startups at a rapid pace.
News: Blippar's Mobile AR Business Collapses After Funding Falls Through
Mobile augmented reality pioneer Blippar has now completed its fall from hopeful AR startup to the immersive computing history books.
News: Smartglasses Maker North Picks Up Intel's Vaunt Patents
When wearables startup North officially unveiled its Focals smartglasses in October, the stylish frames strongly resembled, in form and function, Intel's canceled Vaunt smartglasses.
News: AR Cloud Startup Ubiquity6 Turns Up Volume on Audio AR Through Acquisition of Wavy
Among a crowded field of AR cloud companies aiming to power the future of augmented reality by creating a world of persistent holographic content that lives in a cloud, accessible across devices and accounts, Ubiquity6 is hoping it has found a way to differentiate its platform.
News: Pokémon GO Developer Niantic Scores $245 Million in Funding to Fast-Track Real World Platform
With Pokémon GO as its cash cow and the forthcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Niantic Real World Platform promising future revenue streams, Niantic has convinced investors to bet on its flavor of augmented reality
News: Snap CFO Resigns After Just Seven Months on the Job
In the business world, it's sometimes said that "where there's smoke, there's fire." At Snapchat parent company Snap, Inc., it appears the equivalent of smoke is executive turnover.
Market Reality: Meta Claims Insolvency, ODG Ends in Fire Sale, New Smartglasses Flood CES 2019
The week of the annual Consumer Electronics Show is supposed to be filled with good news for the augmented reality industry as AR headset and smartglasses makers show off their new wares.
Exclusive: Judge in Meta Patent Lawsuit Sets Deadline for Default Judgment, Meta's Founder Moves to Save Startup
The saga of augmented reality startup Meta appeared to be at end, but there are new developments unfolding in real time that may either sink Meta deeper into trouble, or provide a tenuous lifeline for the beleaguered augmented reality company.
News: Pokémon GO Maker Niantic Catches $200 Million in Funding from Samsung & Others, Report Says
Although Niantic is already an augmented reality startup unicorn thanks to the success of Pokémon GO, the company has reportedly captured yet another round of funding.
News: WaveOptics Sets Sights on Expansion of AR Optics Operations with $26 Million in New Funding
Augmented reality optics maker WaveOptics has just infused its operations with a fresh round of funding to facilitate its objective of bringing consumer-grade smartglasses at a $600 price point to market in 2019.
News: Magic Leap Launches Cheddar Video News Channel on Magic Leap One
The team at Magic Leap just got a millennial-style boost with the announcement that financial news network Cheddar is coming to the Magic Leap One.
News: Magic Leap Shakes Up C-Suite, Shuffles Two Top Executives to Advisory Roles
In the aftermath of the launch of the Magic Leap One, Magic Leap has ejected two more executives from their leadership roles.
News: Pokémon GO Maker Niantic Looks to Smartglasses Future with Investment in AR Display Maker DigiLens
The company behind augmented reality's first real gaming hit, Pokémon GO, is quietly making moves toward supporting the rapidly growing smartglasses space that may one day move its content away from smartphones and tablets and onto AR lenses positioned on your face.
News: AR Optics Maker WaveOptics Strikes Alliance with China's Goertek to Produce Smartglasses for Consumers
WaveOptics, makers of diffractive waveguides, has inched closer toward getting products featuring its technology to market through a production partnership with a consumer electronics company whose clients include Google, Microsoft, and Sony.
News: Augmented Reality Startup Phiar Paves Path to $3 Million in Seed Funding for AI-Powered Navigation Solution
Another contestant has emerged in the race to deliver a mainstream augmented reality car navigation system, with Silicon Valley-based Phiar picking up $3 million in seed funding to launch its own artificial intelligence-based mobile app by mid-2019.