Meta Takes ‘Magic Leap’ in IP Licencing Talks, FT Reports

The two firms have reportedly entered discussions to collaborate on augmented reality solutions

Meta Platforms is set to ink a massive partnership with augmented reality (AR) firm Magic Leap, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The new deal aims to share intellectual property licensing and contract manufacturing to create AR-based solutions.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the report comes after nearly two turbulent years of developing the spatial communications platform.

Meta could potentially explore how to leverage Magic Leap’s trendsetting AR technologies, including software and hardware. Despite this, the sources have said it is uncertain if it will lead to a specific project.

Waveguides, Partnerships Are the Way Forward

According to the two former workers in the report, Magic Leap’s “biggest asset” was its high-spec waveguide components. These technologies transmit images from processors to the headset’s lenses.

The report added that Meta declined to comment and that Magic Leap did not confirm the partnership.

Despite this, the latter said that its partnerships with other firms had become a “significant line of business and growing opportunity” for the company.

Speaking to the Financial Times, Magic Leap cited the “complexities” in developing and manufacturing AR technologies and optics as reasons for its partnerships.

The spokesperson continued: “[We] have entered into several non-exclusive IP licensing and manufacturing partnerships with companies looking to enter the AR market or expand their current position.”

Meta and Magic Leap: Partners in Real-Time?

Ongoing negotiations could potentially reopen Chinese markets for the Metaverse company. Meta could also hope to ink strategic partnerships and enter China’s massive consumer market to sell its Quest headsets.

Both firms aim to increase AR hardware and platform adoption rates across industry verticals by leveraging Magic Leap’s next-generation technologies. The former has also collaborated with Microsoft to port its solution on the HoloLens 2, one of the enterprise’s most widely-used mixed reality (MR) devices.

Credit: https://www.xrtoday.com/augmented-reality/meta-takes-magic-leap-in-ip-licencing-talks/