Apple has acquired Mira, a Los Angeles-based AR startup that makes headsets for other companies and the US military, according to a post from the CEO’s private Instagram account yesterday seen by The Verge and a person familiar with the matter. Apple confirmed the acquisition.
The news comes just one day after Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, a $3,499 mixed reality headset that the company has billed as a new “spatial” computing platform. It’s unclear how much Apple paid for Mira, which raised about $17 million in funding to date. Jony Ive, Apple’s former design chief, was an advisor to the startup at one point, according to two former employees who requested anonymity to speak without the company’s permission.
Apple shared its typical statement it gives when it buys a company with The Verge: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” It’s unclear if Apple will continue Mira’s military contracts, but knowing how the company operates, it’s highly unlikely that work will continue.
Read more here:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/6/23751350/apple-mira-ar-headset-startup
The news comes just one day after Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, a $3,499 mixed reality headset that the company has billed as a new “spatial” computing platform. It’s unclear how much Apple paid for Mira, which raised about $17 million in funding to date. Jony Ive, Apple’s former design chief, was an advisor to the startup at one point, according to two former employees who requested anonymity to speak without the company’s permission.
Apple shared its typical statement it gives when it buys a company with The Verge: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.” It’s unclear if Apple will continue Mira’s military contracts, but knowing how the company operates, it’s highly unlikely that work will continue.
Read more here:
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/6/23751350/apple-mira-ar-headset-startup
Will Apple’s end-goal involve monopolizing the “spatial eyewear” sector? Maybe. It wouldn’t be a shock if this was in their plans.
