If there's one thing you can say about Magic Leap, it's that the company is not afraid to spend money. Having already secured $2.3 billion in investment rounds for its recently launched Magic Leap One augmented reality headset, it is now running a contest to determine which independent AR developers it will invest in to create content for the device. The total pot of prize money is $500,000, to be doled out in grants of anywhere from $20,000 to the whole $500,000. Applications are being accepted now through December 15, 2018.
So how can AR developers increase their odds of winning? As in any game, you're more likely to win if you understand the rules. Having read through those rules, here are my top three tips for increasing your chances:
The form has boxes for narrative descriptions of your team members and for the vision of what you want to create. This is a full-fledged pitch like you would give to any serious investor, not just a shot in the dark.
Easy, right? Nah--and for that, I give Magic Leap credit. Today's AR ecosystem is long on gimmicks and short on experiences that validate the past decade's worth of predictions that AR will someday supplant the internet. This program shows every sign of being squarely aimed at accomplishing the latter. So here's hoping to see some really well-thought out, practical projects being funded through this program.
