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Meta has invested €3 billion in EssilorLuxottica, taking a 3% stake in the eyewear giant, Bloomberg and Reuters report.
The French-Italian giant EssilorLuxottica is the largest eyewear company in the world by far. It owns iconic brands like Ray-Ban, Oakley, Oliver Peoples, and Persol, and has exclusive licenses with major fashion companies like Prada, Armani, Burberry, and Chanel. It also owns Sunglass Hut, and has more than 18,000 retail stores in total worldwide.
Last year multiple outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, reported that Meta was in talks to take a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica. Now, Bloomberg and Reuters report that Meta has completed a €3 billion investment representing a just under 3% stake, and “is considering” further investment to bring this to 5% over time.
It comes 3 weeks after Google reportedly took a 4% stake in Gentle Monster, one of EssilorLuxottica’s rising competitors that the company is working with on Gemini smart glasses.
Google Reportedly Investing In Gentle Monster To Take On Ray-Ban Meta
Google is taking a 4% stake in Gentle Monster, the South Korean eyewear company it’s building a Ray-Ban Meta competitor with, The Korea Economic Daily reports.
Meta has so far partnered with EssilorLuxottica for two smart glasses products, Ray-Ban Stories and Ray-Ban Meta, with a third – Oakley Meta HSTN – launching this summer.
Last year Meta and EssilorLuxottica signed an agreement extending their partnership “into the next decade” to develop “multi-generational smart eyewear products”.
Ray-Ban Meta glasses had sold 2 million units as of February, and EssilorLuxottica said annual production capacity will be increased to 10 million by the end of 2026.
The next product from the two companies will reportedly be Oakley Meta Sphaera glasses, according to Bloomberg, featuring a centered camera better suited for first-person video capture.
Apparent Renders Of Next-Gen Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Leak
Apparent renders of next-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses have leaked on Chinese social media, showing distinct designs for optical glasses and sunglasses.
The Information has separately reported that the two companies plan two next generation Ray-Ban Meta glasses models for 2026, with enhanced AI features and longer battery life, and apparent renders of these models leaked on Chinese social media this week.
What Are Ray-Ban Meta Glasses?
Ray-Ban Meta glasses are smart glasses with a camera, microphones, and speakers. They do not have a display.
You can use them to capture photos and videos, listen to music/podcasts/audiobooks, make and receive calls, share your first-person view on WhatsApp/Messenger/Instagram video calls, translate speech, scan QR codes, and query Meta AI, the company’s LLM-based assistant that can see via the camera when you ask about something in view. It’ll also read out some phone notifications, if you want.
Ray-Ban Meta glasses come in three styles: Wayfarer, Headliner, and Skyler. These styles are offered with four types of lenses: Clear, Sun, Polarized, and Transitions, and come in a variety of colors, for both the frame and the lenses.
Whenever the camera is in use, be it for capture or for Meta AI, a white LED on the front of the glasses will pulse to make others nearby aware.
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