Google to Invest in Warby Parker to Develop Smart Glasses

<p>Google announced it will Invest up to &dollar;150 million in Warby Parker&comma; a designer of eyeglasses and national chain of stores&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Warby Parker will partner with Google to develop AI-powered glasses intended for all-day wear&period; The partnership will combine Warby Parker’s signature approach to eyewear design with Google’s industry-leading technology ecosystem&comma; bringing the next generation of computing to a new form factor&colon; glasses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Since our launch we’ve set out to transform the optical industry by leveraging pioneering technology to design better products and experiences—and over the past 15 years&comma; we’ve done just that&comma;” said Co-Founder and Co-CEO Dave Gilboa&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Looking ahead&comma; we believe multimodal AI is perfectly suited for glasses&comma; enabling real-time context and intelligence to augment a wearer’s surroundings as they move through the world&period; We couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Google to bring together the best of AI and the best of eyewear&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;We&&num;8217&semi;re excited to work with Google to develop intelligent eyewear that will enhance our everyday lives&period; The eyewear we wear and the technology we use are core parts of our identity and our daily experience&period; Our teams share a commitment to leverage design&comma; utility&comma; and innovation to build products to help customers in every aspect of life&comma;” added Co-Founder and Co-CEO Neil Blumenthal&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The companies are working closely on the development of future smart glasses and intend to launch a series of products over time&period; The partners&&num;8217&semi; first line of intelligent eyewear&comma; planned to launch after 2025&comma; will incorporate multimodal AI with prescription and non-prescription lenses&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Warby Parker&&num;8217&semi;s optical expertise&comma; omnichannel approach&comma; and history of leveraging technology to create beautifully designed products and exceptional customer experiences make them the perfect partner to co-create and launch this next generation of smart glasses on the Android XR platform&comma;” shared Shahram Izadi&comma; GM and VP of XR at Google&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>As part of this collaboration&comma; Google has committed up to &dollar;75 million for Warby Parker’s product development and commercialization costs&period; In addition&comma; Google has committed to investing up to &dollar;75 million in Warby Parker&comma; at Warby Parker’s option and subject to reaching certain collaboration milestones&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Headquartered in New York City&comma; Warby Parker was founded in 2010 and specializes in designer-quality prescription glasses &lpar;starting at &dollar;95&rpar; and contacts&comma; to eye exams and vision tests available online and in 287 retail stores across the U&period;S&period; and Canada&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;