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Magic Leap is looking for a new CEO as founder Rony Abovitz is stepping down

Magic Leap will now cater to enterprise clients

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Bottom line: Magic Leap founder and CEO Rony Abovitz recently announced intentions to step down as chief executive after founding the company in his garage and leading it for the past decade. Along with a pivot, the future of Magic Leap could look very different.

Abovitz said in a message on the company’s website that after securing “significant” new funding and pivoting to focus on delivering a spatial computing platform for enterprise clients, both he and the board agreed that a change in his role was a natural next step.

As such, Magic Leap has been actively recruiting CEO candidates although the firm seemingly hasn’t found its new chief just yet. Abovitz said they would share more details on the matter in the near future. In the interim, Abovitz will stick around as chief executive through the transition and is holding discussions with the board with regards to how he can continue to assist the company at the board level.

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The firm spent years developing its augmented reality tech and conjuring funding from investors before finally revealing its debut product in late 2017. Unfortunately for the company, initial hardware didn’t quite live up to reviewers’ expectations and was prohibitively expensive.

After disappointing sales and rumors that a successor could be years away, it seemed that the train was heading off the rails completely before the effort was saved with the latest round of funding. Abovitz reportedly managed to secure $350 million in additional funding, allowing the firm to pause its layoff plans.

Masthead credit: Wired

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