May 22, 2020 - Economy & Business

Augmented reality company Magic Leap raises $350 million in new funding

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

Magic Leap booth during Collision 2019 in Toronto, Canada. Photo: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images

Magic Leap, a Florida-based maker of augmented reality devices, raised $350 million in new funding, according to a company memo first reported on by Business Insider.

Why it matters: It puts a whole new spin on the company's name. Magic Leap previously raised nearly $3 billion, repeatedly missed product launch targets and then, once it did launch to critical cackles, almost no one wanted to buy.

  • Investors include ... well, we don't know. The company isn't saying, although CEO Rony Abovitz recently told employees that he was in investment talks with a health care company. Existing backers include Alibaba, Alphabet, Qualcomm Ventures, KKR, Fidelity, and Kleiner Perkins.

The bottom line: "It seems that the lavishly funded augmented reality company still plans to turn all of its focus to the enterprise, as previously announced — a move that puts it in more direct competition with the likes of Microsoft’s HoloLens," writes TechCrunch.

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Dan Primack
Aug 4, 2020 - Economy & Business

Farmers Business Network raises $250 million at $1.75 billion valuation

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Farmers Business Network, a farmer-to-farmer information network, financing and e-commerce platform, raised $250 million in Series F funding led by BlackRock at a reported $1.75 billion valuation.

Why it matters: The pandemic has caused great hardship for many independent farmers, particularly those who sell into food-service segments or who grow commodity crops, so even marginal savings on things like seed can go a long way.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 19,648,084 — Total deaths: 727,024 — Total recoveries — 11,941,723 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 4,998,105 — Total deaths: 162,425 — Total recoveries: 1,643,118 — Total tests: 61,080,587 — Map.
  3. Politics: Trump signs 4 executive actions on coronavirus aid — Democrats, and some Republicans, criticize the move
  4. Public health: Fauci says chances are "not great" that COVID-19 vaccine will be 98% effective — 1 in 3 Americans would decline COVID-19 vaccine.
  5. Science: Indoor air is the next coronavirus frontline.
  6. Schools: How back-to-school is playing out in the South as coronavirus rages on — Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Howard to hold fall classes online.
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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 4 hours ago - World

Brazil coronavirus death toll tops 100,000 and case numbers surpass 3 million

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro posted a photo of himself to Facebook congratulating his soccer team, Palmeiras, for winning the state title Saturday, moments after the health ministry confirmed the national COVID-19 death toll had surpassed 100,000.

Why it matters: Brazil is only the second country to confirm more than 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus. On Sunday morning, it became the second country to surpass 3 million cases, per Johns Hopkins. Only the U.S. has reported more. Bolsonaro has yet to address the milestones. He has previously tested positive for COVID-19 three times, but he's downplayed the impact of the virus, which has crippled Brazil's economy.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest coronavirus case numbers and more context.