Even Realities has raised $150 million in a pre-Series B round led by Meituan and Tencent, valuing the Shenzhen-headquartered smart glasses startup at $1 billion. The funding comes as larger rivals including Meta and Snap push new AI-powered glasses, turning the category into one of consumer technology’s most closely watched hardware markets.
The three-year-old company is taking a different approach from rivals building camera-led devices for content capture and AI assistance. Even is betting on camera-free, display-first glasses that show information directly in the wearer’s line of sight while avoiding some of the privacy concerns attached to face-worn cameras.
Founder and chief executive Will Wang told TechCrunch that smart glasses may become the most personal computing device people wear. He said Even designed privacy into both the hardware and software, including transcription-based voice features, encrypted user data and infrastructure built to meet European privacy standards.
Even Focuses on Display Instead of Cameras
Even was founded in 2023 by former Apple engineers and eyewear industry veterans. Wang previously worked on the Apple Watch and iPhone, while other co-founders came from technology and luxury eyewear companies including Lindberg.
The company launched its first product, Even G1, in 2024. Wang said the company exceeded its target of 10,000 units and became the first startup in the category to sell more than 10,000 pairs.
Its latest model, Even G2, launched last November and removes the camera entirely. The glasses use a heads-up display inside the frames, while the companion Even R1 ring lets users tap and swipe to control what appears on screen.
Even’s software includes translation, navigation, teleprompter tools and Conversate, a real-time copilot that can follow a conversation, explain unfamiliar terms, suggest follow-up questions and sync a summary to the user’s phone.
Optics Remain the Core Investment
Wang said Even has invested most heavily in optics because smart glasses require a different display stack from phones or watches. Instead of a conventional OLED or LCD screen, the glasses need the microchip, waveguide and optical system to work together.
The company developed a proprietary system called Even HAO, or Holistic Adaptive Optics. Wang said the technology integrates the microchip, waveguide and prescription support from the start rather than combining separate components later.
Even sells its glasses near the top of the category. The frames retail for $599 before tax, while prescription lenses or the R1 ring can add another $200 to $300, bringing the average order value to about $1,000.
More than half of Even’s users are in the U.S., which is also its fastest-growing market and home to much of its developer community. The company does not yet sell in China, despite manufacturing there, and currently focuses on the U.S., Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and Europe.
Wang said most customers are male professionals between 30 and 50, with company executives making up about a third of users in an internal survey. The company has grown from about 30 to 40 employees in 2024 to 300 to 400 today.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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