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Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has invested more than $1 billion in a virtual true headset that will rival Apple’s Vision Pro glasses.
Its public investment fund has injected $590 million (£463 million) into Magic Leap, a U. S. company that is developing headsets designed to overlay virtual images on the real world.
Apple is to launch its long-awaited $3,499 Vision Pro headset on Friday, pitting it against Magic Leap and Facebook-owner Meta in the race to develop virtual and augmented reality gadgets.
Magic Leap introduced a complex pair of augmented glasses in 2015, but it had little publicity success. The new debt financing brings the total raised through Florida-based Magic Leap, which has never turned a profit, to more than $4. 5 billion.
Documents filed through Magic Leap’s European department showed that in November, the organization issued “another $590 million of convertible debt to Ultimate Parent Undermaking in exchange for cash” in 2023.
Saudi Arabia became the majority shareholder of Magic Leap two years ago, The Telegraph reported in the past, after the tech company was forced to turn to investors for more cash.
Launched by entrepreneur Rony Abovitz in 2010, Magic Leap had already raised budget from investors Google and American telecommunications company AT.
Abovitz resigned in 2020. Su successor, Peggy Johnson, was replaced by former Bain Capital executive Ross Rosenburg in October.
While its $3,299 earbuds were originally intended for consumers, Magic Leap has since brought its device to businesses. It has also sought to license its intellectual assets to other tech giants.
The Financial Times reported that it had conversations with Meta last year about its designs.
Tim Cook, the head of Apple, said of its headphones: “Vision Pro is years ahead of the curve and doesn’t look like anything created before. “
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