Ever the investment sponge, Magic Leap has announced the completion of a Series D equity funding round, which has seen investment coming from AT&T. Additionally, this has also meant a strategic, exclusive US consumer relationship between the two companies that will see AT&T stores receive Magic Leap One units for demonstration.
While the actual investment figure has been kept quiet, AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan now has observer rights with Magic Leap’s board.
“AT&T is excited to pair our pioneering technologies, unmatched network, content platform, and vast customer ecosystem with Magic Leap’s efforts to build the next generation of computing,” said AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan, who has observer rights with Magic Leap’s board. “We’re designing and offering the future of entertainment and connectivity, and this exclusive arrangement – in combination with our 5G leadership position – will open up new opportunities and experiences.”
The investment establishes AT&T as the exclusive wireless distributor of Magic Leap products for consumers in the US, with select AT&T stores in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to offer their customers a hands-on experience with the elusive headset.
“We’ve joined with AT&T because we believe in a combined vision of expanding high-speed networks, edge computing, and deep integration with creative content,” said Rony Abovitz, Founder, President and CEO of Magic Leap. “Coupling the strength of the evolving AT&T network with Magic Leap’s spatial computing platform can transform computing experiences for people.”
Those in-store demos however aren’t likely to take place anytime soon. Magic Leap has confirmed it’ll begin shipping the Magic Leap One Creator Edition in 2018 to developers and studios. An actual consumer version may still be some way off, when that does happen AT&T will be the first to get hold of them by the sounds of it.
The Magic Leap One system is comprised of three parts, the main headset (called Lightwear), a battery and processing unit termed ‘Lightpack’, and a 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) movement controller. No price has been announced for the system. When further details are available VRFocus will let you know.