Facebook's parent company, Meta, is reportedly in early talks with augmented reality start-up Magic Leap to create a multi-year agreement that could include intellectual property licensing and contract manufacturing in North America for AR products.

Magic Leap produces custom components, including high-tech lenses and associated software, that could be key technologies to build Meta's metaverse. However, the partnership is not expected to yield a specific joint Meta-Magic Leap headset.

The move comes as Meta continues to invest billions of dollars into its metaverse project, which has faced rising investor frustration. Meanwhile, Apple is preparing to unveil its own mixed reality device next month.