The Warby Parker store in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Pat Greenhouse | Boston Globe | Getty Images
Warby Parker shares surged more than 15% after Google announced a smart glasses partnership at its I/O developer conference.
Google has committed up to $150 million to the project. The company has already put $75 million into product development costs and said it would invest an additional $75 million as Warby meets “certain collaboration milestones.”
Warby Parker said it plans to launch a series of products with Google, with the first set to arrive sometime “after 2025.” The glasses will be built on top of Google’s Android XR, an operating system for headset computers. Android XR will include Google’s Gemini AI assistant that users can speak with to control their device.
“Glasses with Android XR will put the power of Gemini one tap away, providing helpful information right when you need it — like directions, translations or message summaries without reaching for your phone. It’s all within your line of sight, or directly in your ear,” Google said in a blog post.
The Warby Parker and Google alliance will rival that of the partnership between Facebook-parent Meta and EssilorLuxottica, the maker of Ray-Ban. Meta and Luxottica in 2023 launched the second edition of their smart glasses, and the two companies are set to roll out a third generation of the glasses with a small display, CNBC previously reported. Meta first announced the partnership in 2020.
The partnership with Warby Parker is a return to the world of glasses for Alphabet. The company famously launched its futuristic Google Glass device in 2013, but the product drew privacy concerns.
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