Quotes of the manufacturer of Ray-Ban glasses, EssilorLuxottica group, rose by almost 6% after reports of a strategic investment from the Meta technology corporation. According to sources familiar with the deal, Meta has acquired a minority stake in the company worth about 3 billion euros (approximately $ 3.51 billion) and is exploring the possibility of increasing the stake to 5%.
The investment indicates a strengthening of Meta's interest in the smart wearable device market, especially with the integration of artificial intelligence technologies. AI-enabled devices are seen as one of the key areas of development for the company, which is focused on building its own ecosystem of hardware and software.
The partnership between Meta and EssilorLuxottica started back in 2019. It led to the release of two generations of smart glasses under the Ray-Ban brand. The first model was released in 2021, but commercial success came with the launch of the second generation of glasses in 2023, which implemented more advanced AI features.
The modern version of Ray-Ban Meta is equipped with a Meta AI voice assistant, and when connected to a smartphone, it allows you to perform actions such as recognizing attractions, getting recipes based on the image of ingredients, and recording and sending voice messages in instant messengers. All functions are implemented using the principles of augmented reality and machine vision.
According to the head of EssilorLuxottica Francesco Milleri, since the end of 2023, 2 million copies of Ray-Ban Meta glasses have already been sold, and by 2026 the company plans to increase its annual production to 10 million devices.
Against the background of interest in smart optics, companies announced an expansion of the line. In the near future, we plan to launch smart glasses models under the Oakley and Prada brands, also equipped with AI functions. This move confirms Meta's strategic commitment to gain a foothold in the fast-growing segment of next-generation personal devices.
