Florida-Based Magic Leap Builds Its Team With Bay Area Hires

Tekla Perry writes Stealthy 'cinematic reality' company Magic Leap may be based in Florida--but it's doing a lot of hiring from the Bay Area, scooping up engineers from Pixar, Google, Apple, and Intel--along with a few Willow Garage alums. And it's got openings for many many more. Are all these folks with long-term Silicon Valley roots really going to move to South Florida? Or is Magic Leap getting ready to open up a Silicon Valley research center to house the brain trust it is gathering? Here's what we know about Magic Leap and its technology, who's joining it, and what other kinds of engineers the company aims to hire. Magic Leap has a lot of money to do all that hiring, having just raised more than half a billion dollars, the bulk of it from Google. If you're working in the Bay Area now, would you look forward to a move to Florida, or rather stay where you are?

Comments

And you get to live in Florida!!!

[russbutton]

The move to Florida will be a bit difficult for man Silicon Valley folks. Florida is a Red State. Most of you aren't old enough to remember the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Consitution, which Florida never ratified. Floridia also failed to ratify the 19th amendment to the US Constitution until 1969. Which amendment is that you ask? That's the one which gave women the right to vote. It was the Law of the Land back in the 1920's because 2/3rds of the states had ratified it, but Florida only accepted it more than 40 years after the fact.

Add in punishing heat, humidity and the fact that you're smack dab in Hurricane Alley with things only getting worse with climate change and you'll realize WHY Florida is a cheaper place to live. But if you don't care about any of that and like cheap seafood and good ol' boy values, then maybe Florida is the state for you!

Re:And you get to live in Florida!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Not state income tax, while in California your income tax fed + state can reach 50%.

Probably why the company is in Florida, the state that ALLOWS you to do business, vs California where you pay your fees, taxes, and still get protested for daring to run a bus to pick up workers.

Finally, something I'm qualified to answer!

[sootman]

As a former Bay Area resident who now lives in Florida, my advice is to stay in California if you can afford to and if you're okay with your current job. Florida isn't totally horrible, but CA is a million times better, ESPECIALLY the Bay Area. Two things off top of my head: the weather is better out there, and there's a whole lot more going on. Every month, it seems, I see an ad for some cool event or something happening right there were used to live. I'd move back in a second if I could afford to. Never should have left, but oh well, that's how life goes sometimes.