Magic Leap Appoints Author Neal Stephenson As 'Chief Futurist'

DANIA BEACH, Fla., Dec. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Magic Leap, Inc. ("Magic Leap") announced today that it has appointed Neal Stephenson as the company's Chief Futurist.  

As the trailblazer behind the concept of the "Metaverse" from his 1992 sci-fi classic Snow Crash, Stephenson imagined a virtual universe where users create avatars to communicate and interact. 

"Neal is a true visionary and the very first to conceptualize a social, virtual world in a coherent way," said Rony Abovitz, Founder, President and CEO of Magic Leap. "I am looking forward to his insights as Chief Futurist for the company, helping the team and I bring Magic Leap's technology to the world."

Known for his speculative fiction works, which have been variously categorized as science fiction, historical fiction, maximalism, cyberpunk, and postcyberpunk, Stephenson's work explores areas such as mathematics, cryptography, philosophy, currency, and the history of science. He also writes non-fiction articles about technology in publications such as the New York Times, TIME, and Forbes.

"Magic Leap is bringing physics, biology, code, and design together to build a system that is going to blow doors open for people who create things," said Stephenson. "Anyone who reads, watches, studies, or plays on screens today is going to enjoy and benefit from the results. I've never seen or heard of a company that brings scientists, engineers, and artists together in the way that Magic Leap is doing and I'm excited to be part of it."

Stephenson shares more thoughts on Magic Leap in a new blog posting on the company's website.

In addition to Snow Crash, Stephenson has authored historical epic novels Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle; science fiction novels The Diamond Age and Anathem; and contemporary thrillers Zodiac and REAMDE. His next novel, a science fiction epic entitled Seveneves, will be published by HarperCollins in May 2015.

About Magic Leap, Inc.
Magic Leap, Inc. was founded in 2011 by Rony Abovitz and his band of modern wizards. It is headquartered in Florida with locations in Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Mountain View, Seattle, Austin, and New Zealand.

To learn more, please visit www.magicleap.com 

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SOURCE Magic Leap, Inc.