Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook) is in advanced negotiations to acquire a roughly 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica, valued at around 4.33-4.5 billion euros or several billion dollars. This deal aims to strengthen their partnership in developing Ray-Ban smart glasses and ensure Meta's exclusivity in design and distribution for future wearable tech and metaverse products.
Meta is collaborating with Morgan Stanley on the deal. Neither EssilorLuxottica nor Meta have commented on the negotiations.
The acquisition would give Meta greater control over the development of smart glasses, a cutting-edge gadget utilizing augmented and mixed-reality technologies, in which tech giants like Apple are heavily investing. Market analysts are optimistic about the growth potential of Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Meta's focus includes developing wearable AI devices such as Ray-Ban smart glasses with heads-up displays and wristband controls. The company is also working on Orion, AR glasses with a holographic display, and has restructured its Reality Labs into Metaverse and Wearables divisions.
Previously, Meta and EssilorLuxottica have released two generations of Ray-Ban smart glasses. The investment could provide EssilorLuxottica with financial support to combat pressures like global inflation and rising costs affecting profit margins.
Meanwhile, Google is reportedly in talks with EssilorLuxottica about integrating its Gemini AI assistant into future smart glasses, potentially competing with Meta's partnership. This suggests a shift in Google's strategy away from building its own XR hardware.
Speculations also suggest that Google may acquire more shares of EssilorLuxottica to gain greater bargaining and control power in their collaboration.
Recent trends indicate that smart glasses sales could increase to millions of units in the coming years, driven by AI assistants and the integration of functionalities like voice interaction, audio output, and image capture.
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