Augmented Reality Startup Magic Leap Taps Microsoft Alum
- Company pivots to business applications after headset flop
- Peggy Johnson spent two decades at Qualcomm; starts in August
Peggy Johnson
Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Augmented reality startup Magic Leap Inc. has hired Peggy Johnson, a Microsoft Corp. executive, to take over as chief executive officer starting next month, as the company continues to reshape itself as a provider of business services.
Magic Leap had been one of the buzziest startups in recent years. It raised more than $2 billion from high-profile investors including Alphabet Inc., largely on the promise that it would turn augmented reality into a viable consumer technology. Rony Abovitz, the company founder and CEO, became the de facto evangelist for augmented reality, with bold and colorful pronouncements of its potential.