Meta may flip to Magic Leap for assist to remain forward of Apple and different new entrants within the soon-to-be crowded AR house. In line with the , the 2 corporations are in talks to signal a multi-year IP licensing and manufacturing pact. Particulars on the negotiations are few, however based on the outlet’s sources, a possible partnership is just not anticipated to supply a collectively developed headset. As a substitute, a deal may see Magic Leap present Meta with entry to a few of its optical tech. The partnership may additionally see the startup help with manufacturing Meta gadgets, thereby permitting the tech large to supply extra of its VR headsets domestically at a time when there’s extra stress for US corporations to reduce their dependence on China.
Meta didn’t instantly reply to Engadget’s remark request. Magic Leap informed the Monetary Occasions partnerships have been changing into a “important line of enterprise and rising alternative for Magic Leap.” Moreover, in a weblog publish titled “,” CEO Peggy Johnson mentioned late final yr the corporate had “acquired an unimaginable quantity of curiosity from throughout the trade to license our IP and make the most of our patented manufacturing course of to supply optics for others looking for to launch their very own mixed-reality expertise.”
The timing of the report is notable for a few causes. Meta is underneath stress from buyers to indicate one thing for all the cash it has spent pursuing CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s imaginative and prescient for the way forward for computing. The corporate doesn’t count on to make a revenue from all of its metaverse initiatives for one more few years. On the identical time, it’s on its Actuality Labs division. Individually, Apple is broadly anticipated to enter the AR headset market subsequent month when the corporate holds its WWDC developer convention.
