Magic Leap Leads the Mixed Reality Tech Race
Magic Leap is one of the most buzzed about tech startups around, and also one of the most secretive. The Florida-based startup has attracted a staggering $1.4 billion in funding from heavy hitters like Google, Andreessen Horowitz, and Kleiner Perkins. So what’s the magic, exactly?
Magic Leap is creating technology that will change the very way we see the future. Going one step beyond virtual reality, Magic Leap is leading a new charge into an even more powerful medium known as mixed reality—in which astonishingly lifelike virtual reality elements can be overlaid on the real world. Mixed reality promises to revolutionize the internet, from a place of sharing information to a reality where powerful immersive experiences become part of our everyday lives.
Magic Leap remain secretive about the technology it has developed to do this, but it’s all about a photonic lightfield chip integrated into a wearable headset. The company’s extreme secrecy over its technology—which has only been shown to investors and a handful of company insiders—has been a great marketing scheme to boost its mystique. And when Magic Leap recently released a Youtube video showing what your morning routine could look like while wearing the headset, the tech world’s interest was even more piqued.
For a more behind the scenes look at Magic Leap’s game-changing technology and the larger implications of virtual and mixed reality, check out this great feature article in Wired.