AR Business, Investments, & Executive Moves
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.
News: The Enterprise Leap — Robots, Gremlins, & Games Won't Save Magic Leap, but Tapping the Inner Child of CEOs Just Might
Mystery is a tricky thing. Used correctly, it can give onlookers the impression that wondrous and perhaps valuable things are afoot. However, once the veil of suspension of disbelief is removed in any significant way, that same mystery can quickly turn into not just skepticism, but outright anger at what may have seemed like an attempt to dupe trusting onlookers.
News: Mojo Vision Raises $50M to Replace Smartphones & Devices with 'Invisible Computing' AR
On Thursday, Mojo Vision, a startup comprised of former engineers from Apple, Amazon, Google, and other Silicon Valley mainstays, emerged from stealth backed by $50 million in funding for a hands-free augmented reality platform that runs without smartphones, tablets, or other devices.
News: Magic Leap Launches App Creator Grant Program Awarding Up to $500,000 in Funding
On Thursday, Magic Leap decided to step up its efforts to foster its developer community by launching the Independent Creator Program.
News: Snap's Vice President of Content Is Ghost, as App Continues to Shed Users
In a move sure to stir up even more speculation about the future of Snap Inc., the company's vice president of content, Nick Bell, is leaving the company after five years.
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: 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: Investors Back Another AR Display Maker as LetinAR Closes $3.6 Million in Funding
Smartglasses and AR headset makers like Microsoft, Magic Leap, and Google (and aspiring AR wearables makers like Apple and Snapchat) need display components for their products, and LetinAR is among the companies ready to supply those components.
News: Leap Motion Nearly Jumped on Board Apple's AR Train Twice, Report Says
In recent years, Apple has assembled its augmented reality team and supply chain through a series of acquisitions, high-profile hires, and strategic investments, but at least one potentially major deal was recently ditched.
News: 'Hyper Reality' Visionary Keiichi Matsuda Parts Ways with Leap Motion
After a little more than a year at motion tracking technology maker Leap Motion, Keiichi Matsuda has resigned his position as vice president of design and global creative director, the company announced on Wednesday.
News: Former Googlers Raise $8 Million Funding to Reinvent Remote Collaboration Through Magic Leap & HoloLens
Last week, Twilio showed off how avatar-based chat communications will work on the Magic Leap One, and now a new startup has unveiled yet another way that augmented reality telepresence and remote collaboration can take place on the device.
News: Lyft's Pick Up of AR Cloud Startup Blue Vision Labs Could Bring AR Features to Ride-Sharing
On Tuesday, Blue Vision Labs, one of three Google-backed companies working on AR Cloud platforms, announced its acquisition by ride-sharing company Lyft.
News: Resolution Games Scores $7.5M in Funding Round Backed by Google, Unity Founder, & Others
Fresh off shipping an augmented reality game for Magic Leap, Resolution Games has farmed another $7.5 million in funding through a Series B round.
News: Jaunt Hit with Layoffs as Startup Abandons VR Business to Focus on Augmented Reality
After building its business on virtual reality, Jaunt is leaving the technology behind to focus on building tools for creating augmented reality content.