Meta Looks to Launch AR Partnership With Magic Leap

Meta is reportedly pursuing a partnership with augmented reality (AR) firm Magic Leap.

According to a Saturday (May 20) report by the Financial Times citing unnamed sources, the tech giant is looking at ways Magic Leap could help it create mainstream AR products through intellectual property licensing and contract manufacturing in North America.

While Magic Leap makes high-tech lenses and other software needed to build a metaverse, the sources say the partnership is not expected to produce a headset from the two companies.

The report quotes two ex-Magic Leap employees who say the company’s biggest asset is the advances it has made with its “waveguides,” which allow thin glass in front of a user’s eyes to display lifelike images at varying depths.

PYMNTS has contacted both Meta and Magic Leap for comment but has not yet received a response. The reported talks come as Meta continues to invest in the metaverse, despite harsh pushback from investors in recent months, with the company’s metaverse division losing $4.3 billion in last year’s fourth quarter.

During an earnings call in April, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussed the company’s efforts in artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse as the future of his firm.

“We’re always focused on connection and expression,” he said, adding that “there’s an opportunity to introduce AI agents to billions of people in ways that will be useful and meaningful. We’re exploring chat experiences in WhatsApp and Messenger, visual creation tools for posts on Facebook and Instagram and ads, overtime video, and multimodal experiences as well.”

Last week, the company announced it had made progress in a collaboration with BMW to explore how AR and virtual reality (VR) could be integrated into smart vehicles.

Beyond Meta, other companies are grappling with how to incorporate VR and AR into their businesses. In some cases, that means companies scaling back their metaverse plans, as is the case with Disney and Microsoft.

More recently, Amazon revealed it would begin allowing consumers to purchase real-world products from within virtual spaces.

As PYMNTS reported, Amazon Anywhere is an “immersive shopping experience” that lets shoppers browse and purchase physical products from the retail giant from inside of virtual worlds like video games, augmented reality (AR), and mobile apps.