Google and Magic Leap have partnered to “advance the potential of XR applied sciences”, the latter has stated in a weblog submit.
The announcement was gentle on element, however Magic Leap stated the tie-up would mix its AR credentials with Google’s know-how platforms. Google is already an investor in Magic Leap.
Magic Leap Chief Know-how Officer Julie Larson-Inexperienced stated: “This partnership accelerates the transformative energy of AR by combining our intensive optics capabilities with Google’s applied sciences to proceed to advance immersive experiences to the developer ecosystem and for purchasers.
“We’re trying ahead to increasing the potential of XR – mixing the bodily world with useful, contextually related options.”
“By combining efforts, we are able to foster the way forward for the XR ecosystem with distinctive and modern product choices.”
Crucially, the discharge didn’t reveal if the pair deliberate to launch a collectively developed AR gadget.
Google has had a love-hate relationship with augmented actuality over time. It was the early frontrunner with Glass, just for the gadget to be largely snubbed by the buyer market. A second crack, in enterprise kind, was retired final yr.
The rumoured Challenge Iris headset, which at one stage seemed prefer it was launching this yr, has additionally didn’t materialise amid rumours of its abandonment.
Google does, nonetheless, have irons within the fireplace. The agency is about to launch an XR video conferencing resolution with HP in 2025, and just lately partnered with Qualcomm and Samsung to energy the latter’s upcoming headset.
Shahram Izadi, Vice President and Basic Supervisor of AR/XR at Google, stated: “We sit up for bringing collectively Magic Leap’s management in optics and manufacturing with our applied sciences to deliver a wider vary of immersive experiences to market.
Enterprise Focus
At CES 2024, Magic Leap CEO Ross Rosenberg and CTO Daniel Diez mentioned the corporate’s up to date roadmap following a major 2023, which noticed a management shake-up.
Since Rosenberg’s appointment in October, Magic Leap has refocused on enterprise and industrial shoppers for its XR units. He described the present part as “chapter three,” specializing in industrial adoption and establishing buyer use circumstances.
Magic Leap collaborates with enterprise shoppers like Siemens to showcase its aggressive XR show for industrial functions. Potential sectors benefiting from their XR know-how embody healthcare, army coaching, and workplace environments.
Diez added that Magic Leap targets industrial settings, equivalent to immersive coaching for complicated procedures requiring detailed digital twins and exact monitoring.
The corporate goals to adapt its merchandise to evolving market calls for, transferring past the metaverse hype to sensible functions.
Magic Leap additionally secured $590m from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, boosting its valuation to over $4.5bn and supporting its enterprise-focused “chapter three” roadmap. The XR market is turning into more and more aggressive, with corporations like Magic Leap, Apple, and Meta vying for dominance.