Facebook owner, Meta Platforms is looking to form a multiyear partnership with augmented reality (AR) start-up Magic Leap, reported the Financial Times.
Citing sources aware of the development, the report said Meta is looking for ways that Magic Leap might offer intellectual property licencing and contract manufacturing in North America, to assist it in developing mainstream AR devices.
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Magic Leap specialises in developing custom parts such as lenses and related software that are essential technologies for the metaverse
People familiar with the talks added that no specific joint Meta-Magic Leap headgear is anticipated to result from the agreement.
Two ex-employees told the publication that Magic Leap’s “biggest asset” is the effectiveness of its “waveguides”- a technique that enables thin glass in front of the user’s eyes to conjure up realistic images at varying depths.
Meta declined to comment on the development.
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By GlobalDataWithout confirming the talks, Magic Leap said that partnerships were becoming a “significant line of business and growing opportunity for Magic Leap”.
Set up in 2010, Florida-based Magic Leap is said to have raised more than $3.5bn in funding rounds from the likes of Google, Qualcomm and Alibaba.
The news comes as iPhone maker Apple prepares to launch its virtual reality (VR) headset, which is expected to offer access to hundreds of thousands of apps.
In a separate development, the European Union imposed a record $1.3bn fine on Meta for violating data privacy rules.
