Meta has reportedly bought a minority stake in Ray-Ban and Oakley-parent company EssilorLuxottica, worth around $3.51 billion, and is considering further investments that could expand its stake to 5%. This comes amid a growing interest in AI-equipped wearable technology.
Meta first struck up a partnership with the eyewear company in 2019, producing two generations of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. The initial version debuted in 2021 but it was with the second-generation model — released in 2023 — that the duo saw greater success. The latter version is equipped with the Meta AI voice assistant and includes features that, when tethered to a smartphone, lets users identify city landmarks, get recipes when looking at ingredients and record and send voice messages on WhatsApp and Messenger.
Francesco Milleri, the CEO of the eyewear company, said in February that the companies have sold 2 million pairs of the Meta Ray-Ban glasses since late 2023, and that he aimed to increase annual production to 10 million units by the end of 2026.
READ: Meta eyes the acquisition of voice-cloning firm Play AI (June 27, 2025)
The news about Meta’s latest investment caused EssiorLuxottica’s shares to go up by almost 6% on Wednesday.
Last month, Meta also announced its first set of Oakley-branded smart glasses, which boasts of an upgraded camera and better battery performance than its current crop of Ray-Bans. These new glasses, named the Oakley Meta HSTN, come in different lens and frame color combinations and start at $399, though initial sales will be for a special-edition version that costs $499.
This comes at a time of growing interest in similar technology among tech companies. Google has recently developed a prototype of Android XR glasses with a small augmented reality display in the lens, aiming for commercial release next year. There are also rumors of Apple working on smart glasses. For EssilorLuxottica, this deal means a stronger foothold in the tech industry. The company hopes to expand its partnership with Meta to other brands and has plans to increase production capacity for smart glasses.
Of late, Meta has been going all in on AI-related investments. The company’s most recent investments include a deal with Scale AI, a startup that provides data labelling services. Meta is investing $14.3 billion as part of this deal, and will have a 49% stake in the artificial intelligence startup but will not have any voting power.
READ: Meta invests $14.3 billion in Scale AI, brings CEO Alexandr Wang onboard (June 13, 2025)
The tech giant also brought in Scale CEO Alexandr Wang onboard its superintelligence team. In addition, Meta is also in the talks to acquire voice-cloning startup Play AI. The company has plans to buy the startup’s tech, as well as bring on board some of its staff.
Meta has also been on a recruitment spree of late. There have been reports of the company offering high level employees of rivals like OpenAI signing bonuses as high as $100 million, as well as high compensation per year. Most of these new hires are for Meta’s new superintelligence lab.