2016 Was the Year Silicon Valley's Hype Machine Sputtered

That was the repeated response from Magic Leap founder Rony Abovitz when Reed Albergotti of The Information asked about the technology behind the startup's augmented-reality glasses. For months, as Albergotti recently reported, Magic Leap has wooed investors and journalists by strapping them into a bulky helmet that augments their world with Star Wars-like spaceships and other digital creations. But this helmet is too big and too expensive for the mass market, so the company is working to squeeze its technology into a sleek pair of wire-rim glasses. The rub, according to ex-employees speaking with The Information, is that the company is having trouble actually making that happen. Abovitz wouldn't let Albergotti try the glasses on, and when asked how they work, all he would say was: "Squirrels and sea monkeys."