Augmented reality laptop innovators are laying off staff and hardware department

This week, Sightful, the immersive technology innovator behind the upcoming “Spacetop” AR laptop, announced it was laying off 20 employees and disbanding its hardware division. The move is a “long-term strategic decision” to develop Augmented reality software solutions.

In an official press release, the company noted that layoffs “are not the path the company intended,” especially since Sightful is deep into development of the Spacetop and its latest G1 model. In an update in May, the company doubled down on its commitment to the product, introducing a new, sleeker Spacetop G1 device that will initially cost early adopters $100 and will cost $1,700 total, as well as an early adopter program that Sightful introduced earlier this year that lets users order the devices ahead of the general release window.

Sightful has created a device that aims to provide users with efficient spatial processing. It is supported by smart glasses maker XREAL, which integrates leading technology without compensating for the size of the device.

However, Sightful explains that the “rapid” progress in the “broader” market was in line with the company’s previously mentioned long-term strategic vision of reducing its headcount, focusing on software, and ““Bringing augmented reality (AR) productivity to as many people as possible.”

In an official press release regarding the job cuts, Sightful explained:

Essentially, these market changes have enabled an acceleration in Sigthful’s journey. This acceleration has positive aspects, including significant growth in our total addressable market and faster speed to market, but it has also had negative aspects, including the layoff of valued employees.

More about Sightful’s innovative AR laptop

Spacetop introduces a unique AR hardware solution to increase productivity for XR 2024 customers. The laptop offers a virtual 100-inch virtual monitor for employee use, with deep mobility considerations that allow users to work from home, in the office, or on the go.

Sightful is partnering with XREAL, a smart glasses vendor experienced in the consumer market but is directing its investment toward offering a low-cost Vision Pro solution for work. The Sightful laptop uses the hardware vendor’s Vision and XREAL Air 2 Pro glasses, which have two OLED display panels, 1920×1080 pixels per eye, and a 90Hz refresh rate.

Sightful is tailoring the XREAL hardware for use in the workplace, focusing on factors like text readability. The company first announced the product at last year’s AWE event; Sightful touted it as the world’s first AR laptop. While the product is still in development, the company is eager to demonstrate its capabilities, and Sightful used the more recent AWE 2024 event to showcase the product.

This comes at a time when Apple is also focusing on spatial computing and MR productivity tools. Sightful’s partners XREAL are clearly on a mission to bring their portfolio to market as a more affordable alternative to Apple’s Vision Pro for spatial computing, and the Spacetop follows suit with this goal, with the device representing the future of screenless productivity.