Peggy Johnson interview: How Magic Leap is getting traction with its enterprise pivot

Magic Leap has gone through a whirlwind in the past year. Founded in 2010 by Rony Abovitz, the company set out to be a pioneer in augmented reality and mixed reality technologies. Abovitz raised $2.6 billion in multiple rounds and developed the Magic Leap One, a mixed reality headset that debuted in August 2018.

But sales were slow for the $2,295 device, as consumers didn’t dive into the expensive tech. Finally, in April 2020, Magic Leap decided to shut down its consumer division and laid off about 1,000 employees, or half its workforce. In May 2020, Abovitz announced he would replace himself as CEO (while staying on the board) just as the company got a major lifeline with a $350 million raise. In September 2020, the board appointed Peggy Johnson as CEO. She’s a a former Microsoft executive, and this was part of a plan to double down on the enterprise markets.