Magic Leap Inc. Reportedly Lays Off Sales and Marketing Teams, Shifts Focus to Licensing Technology

Magic Leap Inc., the heavily funded mixed reality startup, has reportedly made a significant move by laying off its sales and marketing teams. According to Bloomberg, about 75 employees were affected by the restructuring, with the company providing two months of severance pay to the departing staffers.

The company confirmed the job cuts in a statement, citing a shift in their go-to-market approach to better align with market dynamics and emerging opportunities. Magic Leap stated that they have consolidated their frontline engagement to their developer support and care teams.

This restructuring comes amidst a major shift in Magic Leap’s business strategy. Originally focused on developing mixed reality headsets for consumers, the company will now refocus on licensing the optical technology that underpins its headsets to other organizations.

Magic Leap’s first mixed reality device, the Magic Leap One, was met with mixed reception upon its debut in 2018. Following this, the company underwent a significant pivot to focus on the enterprise market, leading to the release of the Magic Leap 2 in 2022 with improvements in design and functionality.

The reported shift to licensing is seen as a “last-ditch attempt” by executives to salvage Magic Leap, with a focus on their optical technology that addresses common rendering issues in mixed reality headsets. The company holds thousands of patents worldwide, with a particular emphasis on their optics technology that can be integrated into compact devices such as smart glasses.

Magic Leap’s optical technology could potentially be of interest to companies like Meta Platforms Inc. and Google LLC, as indicated by recent partnerships and collaborations in the augmented reality market.

Overall, Magic Leap’s move towards licensing their technology signals a new direction for the company as they navigate the competitive landscape of mixed reality technology.