Apple buys the startup Mira, specialized in augmented reality viewers for companies and defense

With the Vision Pro viewer already introduced, you might think that Apple doesn’t need to keep buying companies, but nothing could be further from the truth. Despite the fact that his debut took place just a couple of days ago, the CEO of the startup specialized in augmented reality Mira has announced its acquisition by the apple firm, adding to an endless list of small firms assimilated by their knowledge, experience or patents

As on previous occasions, the statement has been quite discreet: a post on Instagram on a private personal page. There is no press release or anything like that, although Apple has confirmed the operation through a spokesperson.

Look is a Los Angeles-based company that specializes in developing augmented reality headsets for industrial and military purposes. The company recently won a contest from the US Army and Air Force for just over $700,000 to provide them with visors for pilot training, and the visors for the Mario Kart attraction that we can find in the parks are also theirs. Super Nintendo World in Osaka and Los Angeles.

Mira’s funding was fairly modest, having raised $17 million in investment capital since its founding; a minor typo in the face of massive spending by Reality Labs or flops like Magic Leap, which can’t have welcomed the Vision Pro announcement.

Not to vary, Apple remains mute as to the reasons for the acquisition and the amount it has had to pay. “Apple buys smaller tech companies from time to time, and we generally don’t discuss our purpose or plans,” a spokesperson said. All that is known for sure is that, according to Mira’s CEO, at least 11 employees will join the ranks of the apple firm.

One can imagine that Mira’s experience could be interesting for Apple to explore the professional possibilities of Vision Pro and future augmented reality products, and it is that despite his last name, everything shown during the presentation this past Monday points to a luxurious media consumption device rather than productivity or content creation.