It was rumored last year that Meta was seeking a minority stake in French-Italian eyewear conglomerate EssilorLuxottica, not only the largest eyewear manufacturer in the world, but also Meta’s partner behind its growing line of smart glasses. Now, a new report suggests the deal has gone through.
Citing people familiar with the matter, a Bloomberg report maintains Meta has acquired just under 3% of EssilorLuxottica, which is suspected to be worth €3 billion (~$3.5 million).
Meta is reportedly considering additional investment in the eyewear maker over time, which could bring its overall stake to around 5%, the people said, who asked to not be named due to ongoing deliberations.
In June 2024, a Wall Street Journal report maintained Meta was considering a stake of about 5% in the eyewear group, although at the time talks were reportedly still in early phases.
Then, three months later, Meta announced it was expanding its smart glasses partnership with EssilorLuxottica into 2030. At the time, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described its long-term roadmap as giving the companies “the opportunity to turn glasses into the next major technology platform, and make it fashionable in the process.”
This comes as the companies prepare to release their latest smart glasses collaboration: Oakley Meta HSTN. Meta and EssilorLuxottica are releasing a limited edition version of device on July 11th, priced at $499, with multiple lens and frame colorways slated to go on sale later this summer.
Oakley Meta HSTN comes with a modest feature bump over the companies’ second-gen Ray-Ban Meta glasses, which launched in 2023. In addition to serving up music, photo and video capture, and AI chats, Oakley Meta HSNT also promises better battery life and higher resolution video capture over the current Ray-Ban Meta generation, offering up to “3K video” from the device’s ultra-wide 12MP camera and a typical battery life of eight hours between recharges via the supplied charging case.
Meanwhile, other tech giants are preparing their own entries into the segment. Google revealed back in May that it was partnering with eyewear makers Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to bring its first Android XR smart glasses to market. Recent industry reports allege Google is also looking to invest $100 million in the South Korea-based Gentle Monster.
Chinese tech giant Xiaomi recently released its Xiaomi AI Glasses, which match many of Oakley Meta HSNT’s biggest features, but also add a few of their own—notably an increased continuous recording cap of 45 minutes and even the option to select electrochromic lenses for variable lens-shading. For now, Xiaomi AI Glasses are only available in China.
Both Samsung and Apple are reportedly looking to launch their own smart glasses at some point in the future too. Separate reports maintain Samsung could release a device this year, and Apple as soon as 2026.
