Meta's Ray-Bans Have Been Such a Hit That the Company Is Reportedly Thinking About Investing in That Makes Them

Despite being a mass product, the Ray-Ban Meta have achieved remarkable success. Launched in the last quarter of 2023, these “smart glasses” had more sales in a few months than the previous model, the Ray-Ban Stories, managed to achieve in two years on the market.

As we’ve seen, this product has undergone an exciting evolution, and we have reason to believe there’s much more to come. This scenario has led Meta to consider a significant investment in the company behind Ray-Ban.

Millions for EssilorLuxottica

Although there’s no official information on the matter, Bloomberg states that the social media giant led by Mark Zuckerberg might reportedly buy a stake of more than 3% and up to 5% in the French-Italian group EssilorLuxottica for about $4.9 million.

EssilorLuxottica, the result of the 2017 merger between Luxottica and Essilor, is the largest eyewear manufacturer in the world. The company has a broad presence in the vision care sector and a market capitalization of roughly $96 billion.

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This kind of transaction would require the approval of regulators in several countries. According to sources consulted by Bloomberg, Meta has reportedly received approval from U.S. authorities to proceed with the investment.

It's not clear whether the investment, if it happens, would get Meta a seat on EssilorLuxottica’s board, or whether the move will happen at all. If it does, the two companies would deepen their partnership, presumably to create better products.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram has also embarked on the development of the “metaverse,” a concept that has lost steam in the face of the rise of artificial intelligence but is still in its plans and responsible for a multimillion-dollar expenditure.

Meta’s product portfolio includes Ray-Ban Meta, the Meta Quest 3, and the Meta Quest Pro. In the distant future, these options could converge into a much more natural type of wearable, like traditional glasses.

This article was written by Javier Marquez and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Images | Meta | Ray-Ban

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