Social media giant Meta has acquired a roughly 3% stake in Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica for $3.5 billion. While the investment doesn’t give Mark Zuckerberg direct control over the operations, it does cement a five-year partnership. The goal is simple: to make smart glasses an everyday technology.
Following the launch of Ray-Ban Stories in 2019, the 2023 Ray-Ban Meta model has taken a major step forward. Now, these glasses are a powerhouse in both style and function — with a camera on the temples, 32GB of storage, Instagram Live, AI support, and voice control. They’re not just glasses, they’re small, affordable, and multi-functional devices.
Sales are a testament to that: more than 700,000 have been sold since 2023, and global sales of smart glasses are expected to reach 2 million in 2024. It has a target of 10 million by 2026. Its prices have moved out of the luxury segment and are now at the smartphone level. Ray-Ban Meta glasses are among the best-selling models.
The market is growing rapidly. The global smart glasses market is expected to reach $6 billion in 2024 and $16 billion in 2034. The average annual growth rate for 2025-2029 is estimated at 60 percent.
Meta has competitors, but failures like Google Glass and the industrial orientation of Microsoft HoloLens have not yet surpassed the daily user base of the Meta-Ray-Ban alliance. Their difference is that they combine technology and fashion.
Meta's $3.5 billion investment in EssilorLuxottica is a strong signal for the spread of smart glasses around the world. The future is already here, and we will see it with our own eyes.
