By
Bloomberg
Published
Jul 18, 2024
Meta Platforms Inc. is in talks to take a minority stake in the maker of Ray-Ban sunglasses, as the Facebook owner intensifies its push to develop smart glasses.
Meta, which has collaborated with EssilorLuxottica SA on Ray Ban-Meta smart eyewear, is considering a stake of as much as 5% of the luxury eyewear group, which would be valued at about €4.5 billion ($4.9 billion) at current prices, according to people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public. There is no guarantee that any investment will take place, they said.
A spokesperson for Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for EssilorLuxottica declined to comment. The Financial Times reported the talks earlier.
By taking a stake in EssilorLuxottica, the social media giant would seek to strengthen its partnership with the world’s biggest eyewear company. Meta, along with other major technology companies, is exploring using virtual and augmented reality to keep users loyal and engaged. Snap Inc. has been experimenting with mixed-reality spectacles for years, while Apple Inc. released the Vision Pro headset earlier this year. As yet, users have not adopted these technologies en masse.
EssilorLuxottica shares rose 4.6% to €198.65 at 3:15 p.m. in Paris.
Meta has invested heavily into the metaverse — a future version of the internet made up of immersive worlds accessible via headsets — which Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has hailed as the next major computing revolution after mobile phones. The company changed its name from Facebook to Meta years ago to underscore the dedication to the concept.
According to Bloomberg, Meta is likely doubling down on its AR and smart-glasses bet with its new new stake in EssilorLuxottica, given it doesn’t own the hardware platform as is the case with Oculus VR. We believe AR units, about 10-15x smaller than VR in terms of units shipped, could grow at a much faster rate than VR given the potential to have smart glasses as an inference device for gen-AI and virtual-assistant functionality.
Meta unveiled its first Ray-Ban smart glasses in partnership with EssilorLuxottica, in 2021. Those glasses were set on the Wayfarer frame to let users take photos and videos, listen to music and answer calls. Newer glasses incorporate MetaAI, an AI assistant based on its Llama artificial intelligence model.
EssilorLuxottica on Wednesday announced an agreement to buy streetwear label Supreme from VF Corp. for $1.5 billion in cash, adding another lifestyle brand to a stable that also includes Oakley sunglasses.