Google Leads Monster $542 Million Funding For Magic Leap, A Mysterious ...

Magic Leap's site talks in vague, ambitious language about bringing magic to life and focusing on humans, not machines. (Magic Leap)

Google's is pouring money into Magic Leap, a mysterious Florida company that does, well, something cool and visual that it calls 'cinematic reality' and that others can't agree on how to describe.


The funding, which was announced Tuesday and first reported a week ago by Re/code, isn't just surprising because of its size - a huge amount for a second funding round. Google's involvement in the investment is also much stronger than usual.


Google - not Google Ventures or Google Capital - led the funding round, which includes other A-list investors like Kleiner Perkins and Andreessen Horowitz. The direct investment from Google signals that Magic Leap could be valuable to the company's future strategy. And in a rare move, Sundar Pichai, Google's head of Chrome, Android and Apps, will join the company's board of directors, another signal that Google is very interested in its investment in Magic Leap.


Magic Leap likes to define itself by what it is not. 'Magic Leap is going beyond the current perception of mobile computing, augmented reality, and virtual reality,' said its founder and CEO, Rony Abovitz. The company hopes its technology - sometimes called ' digital light field ' - will avoid the nausea and ' simulator sickness' that plague virtual reality by mixing visual displays with the real world.


The Fort Lauderdale company hasn't spent too much time in the press spotlight and is vague about how its technology will reach consumers. A headset or some kind of glasses are likely involved. The device would probably show high-resolution images close to a user's face and mix them with the natural setting nearby, hopefully mitigating some of the physical effects of virtual reality. The product is separate from Google Glass, though because of its structural similarity - and Google's deep interest in the company - it's tempting to imagine a future in which the two technologies could overlap, even if it seems unlikely.


The investment draws easy comparisons to Facebook's $2 billion purchase of Oculus Rift, which makes a virtual-reality headset, even though Abovitz asked Fast Company not to label the investment with a 'Google versus Facebook' narrative. The Wall Street Journal said that the most recent investment in Magic Leap values the company at around $2 billion.


If you're still curious about what Magic Leap might bring in the future, feel free to attempt to parse this video of Abovitz putting on a bizarre talk/performance at a TEDx event last year in Sarasota. It features the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Abovitz in a space suit, and jumping colorful gorilla-like creatures, so there's plenty to draw metaphor from.


Follow me on Twitter at @ellenhuet, find more of my stories on Forbes or email me at ehuet at forbes.com.

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