With Magic Leap's New Patent, Is Identity Security Its Next AR Ambition?

AR/VR startup Magic Leap's new patent application links facial recognition, identity authentication, and document verification and could signal the stealth company's interest in cybersecurity applications. Magic Leap – a much-hyped "mixed reality" startup that has raised almost $2B to date – has yet to release a product. But with investors like Google, Kleiner Perkins, Alibaba, and others betting big on Magic Leap's success, the company's mysterious ambitions have captivated interest across the tech sector. A new patent application surfaced in the CB Insights database is the latest clue to the stealth startup's strategy: The technology outlined in the patent could turn an augmented reality system into a tool for hyper-rapid identity verification using facial recognition. Get this data driven report on the patent activity for Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon and more top tech companies.