Market Reality: Vuzix Defends Blade, Magic Leap Shows Off ML1 & Snapchat Reintroduces Consumers to Its AR Camera

The augmented reality business was all about audiences this week.

Vuzix looked for an audience with the Supreme Court of New York regarding a defamation lawsuit against an investor. Magic Leap held an audience with royalty, showing off the Magic Leap One in a rare public appearance. And Snapchat wanted to remind its consumer audience of all the things its camera can do.

Vuzix Hits Short Seller with $80M Defamation Suit

Augmented reality device maker Vuzix has filed a defamation lawsuit asking for $80 million in punitive damages, money damages, and interest against a short seller who has publicly claimed that the Amazon Alexa functionality of the company's Blade smartglasses is fraudulent.

Filed with the Supreme Court of the State of New York, the action was triggered by a report written by self-described "activist investor" Richard Pearson via his MOX reports site on March 16 and subsequently published on Seeking Alpha on March 20.

Keep reading to find out how all this got started...

REALITY BITES: Law firm Perkins Coie surveyed 140 augmented reality and VR leaders, from startup founders and corporate executives to investors and consultants, to ascertain their outlook on the industry and their approach to the business side of the technologies. The results are pretty insightful.

Saudi Royal Demos Magic Leap One During Tech Tour

It turns out that the government of Saudi Arabia has managed to do something last month's Game Developers Conference couldn't—give us a few new glimpses of the Magic Leap One being worn by someone other than Shaq.

Last month, Magic Leap used GDC to launch its SDK, hold a number of private parties at a special "Magic Leap House," and even give a few select attendees private, apparently NDA-locked demos. But while many were hoping to see the company use the event to hold the first public demonstration of the device, Magic Leap instead opted to avoid even showing the headset in public.

So who, exactly, got to wear the Magic Leap One and why? Read on to find out...

REALITY BITES: WayRay is opening a new office in China to court Asian suppliers and auto manufacturers for its AR navigation technology.

Snapchat Puts Marketing Muscle Behind Its Camera & AR

With a fresh series of videos and a new webpage, Snapchat has composed an answer to its own question, "What is Snapchat?"

In short, its answer is that "Snapchat is a camera." In an extended commercial accompanying the new webpage, it's evident that the camera does quite a bit in AR as well.

Put down your Snapchat app for a second and keep reading to learn what prompted this new push.

Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This weekly Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. Check out previous editions of Market Reality for more news you may have missed.

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