That’s how much mixed-reality company Magic Leap raised in it’s Series C earlier this year. It’s not really news, as the funding happened months ago. And yet it IS really news.
What does it mean when an independent company can raise that kind of money without going public? For all their flaws, public markets are still, well, public. Individuals can buy into any company that has public securities, whether directly or indirectly. Though disclosure rules are – oddly – both onerous and incomplete, public companies have to report on what they’re doing, and why, and how.
What does it mean when the coolest developments of our time are also the most secret? [And to be sure, this is Extremely Cool – see the recent Wired article by Kevin Kelley for an excellent summary of developments in the VR/MR world.] What does it mean when being a public company is undesirable?
Maybe I’m pouting over not being able to play with all the toys at the playground.
Maybe this sort of secret-awesome development has always existed in one form or another.
And maybe, also, this is a little bit different.