According to some sources, Apple bought the AR startup Mira. This Los Angeles-based company makes the AR headsets for AR’s augmented reality carousel Mario Kart from Super Nintendo World and has contracts with the US Army and Navy.
Apple buys Mira, a Californian AR startup
Apple has unveiled its long-awaited AR headset, the Vision Pro, at his WWDC 2023 inaugural address on Monday. Proving that the company wants to focus on augmented and virtual reality. And it seems that one of the ways it wants to do this is through the acquisition of technologies that have already proven to work, such as some of Mira’s projects.
The Verge reports that the purchase was confirmed via posts on Mira founder Ben Taft’s private Instagram account and that even Apple has admitted it. There’s no word yet on how much Apple has shelled out for the startup or what its intentions are with the company. The Verge also reports that Apple has hired at least 11 Mira employees. And also that the former head of design Jony Ive he once mentored the startup.
The Air Force, the United States Air Force, has chosen the Mira Prism Pro as an AR viewer for its pilots. While Nintendo World has launched an AR device that recreates the Mario Kart game. The Mira Prism Pro uses the phone as a screen and offers low-cost augmented reality. Nintendo World AR device projects game characters and scenarios to make players feel part of the action. Both devices have been praised for their immersion, but they also have limitations.
The Apple viewer presented seems to be able to do much more – at a much higher price. But Apple needs services and solutions to make its new Vision product line more accessible – Mira’s engineers could play a big part in that.