Even Realities Secures $150M Funding Round Led by Meituan and Tencent, Reaches $1B Valuation for Smart Glasses Innovation

Last month, Meta and Snap unveiled new smart glasses, signaling a major advancement in the industry’s quest to embed cameras and AI assistants into everyday life. As this rapidly evolving market develops, new entrants like Even Realities are beginning to compete with established leaders.

Shenzhen-based startup Even Realities, founded three years ago, has successfully raised $150 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Meituan and existing backer Tencent, achieving a valuation of $1 billion. Founder and CEO Will Wang shared with TechCrunch that, unlike other companies focusing on camera-equipped devices for content generation and AI, their primary focus is on display-first glasses that provide information directly in the user’s line of sight while prioritizing privacy.

Initial investors in Even include prominent Chinese companies such as Hillhouse, Sequoia China, and Northern Light Venture Capital.

Founded in 2023 by former Apple engineers, CEO Wang has been involved in the development of the Apple Watch and iPhone, while other co-founders bring backgrounds from both the technology and luxury eyewear sectors, including Lindberg. The startup quickly launched its first product, the G1, in 2024, which Wang asserts is the lightest waveguide smart glasses available at that point.

Wang indicated that Even exceeded its goal of selling 10,000 units, becoming the first in its category to achieve this benchmark. The company secured funding more rapidly than expected, expanding its workforce from 30-40 employees in 2024 to between 300 and 400 today.

The latest flagship model, the G2, was launched last November and does not feature a camera. Instead, it incorporates a heads-up display within the frames that communicates information to the user, navigable via the Even R1 companion ring, which allows for tapping and swiping interactions.

The decision to exclude the camera underscores Even’s commitment to privacy, which is a crucial part of their strategy. Wang stressed that smart glasses are the most personal computing device one can wear. Given their everyday usage, ensuring comfort for both users and those around them is vital, thus making privacy an essential aspect of both hardware and software. For example, features such as voice translation convert audio to text without storing audio clips; user data is encrypted, and systems adhere to Europe’s stringent privacy regulations, Wang noted.

Power users of Even depend significantly on Conversate, a feature that translates conversations in real-time, clarifying jargon and providing follow-ups immediately while syncing summaries with their smartphones.

Nonetheless, Even has also prioritized optics (display quality and overall visual performance), which Wang claims sets smart glasses apart from other consumer electronics.

“Unlike phones or watches that typically use standard OLED or LCD screens, smart glasses are the first category to utilize optical displays, requiring a completely different technological approach; one must seamlessly design the microchip, optics, and waveguide. That’s where our most significant investments have been directed,” Wang explained.

The company has developed a proprietary optical technology called Even HAO, or Holistic Adaptive Optics, which integrates the microchip, waveguide, and prescription support from the beginning, instead of assembling separately designed components.

More than half of Even’s user base is located in the U.S., its fastest-growing market, which also contains the largest portion of its developer community. Although Even operates production facilities in multiple locations in China, it currently does not sell there, focusing on the U.S., Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Europe. “The demand in China is significant, so we want to ensure we’re fully prepared,” Wang stated.

Even positions itself in the premium segment of the market while achieving substantial sales volume, making it a contending player in this space, according to Wang. “Our typical customers are male professionals aged 30 to 50, and a survey revealed that approximately one-third of our users are business executives,” he observed. The frames are priced at $599 before taxes, and including prescription lenses or the accompanying ring, the total average cost can approach $1,000.