Google is re-entering the smart glasses market through high-profile partnerships with eyewear brand Warby Parker and luxury fashion house Kering.
The company aims to develop AI-powered smart glasses using its Android XR platform, integrating multimodal artificial intelligence into wearable tech designed for everyday use.
Announced during Google I/O 2025, the collaborations mark Alphabet Inc.'s most ambitious push yet in augmented reality (AR) eyewear, following the discontinuation of its earlier Google Glass project.
Privacy concerns and limited consumer uptake had previously hindered Google's efforts in this space.
As part of the agreement, Google will invest up to $150 million in Warby Parker—$75 million towards product development and commercialisation, and an additional $75 million in equity, contingent on specific performance milestones.
The first product line from the Google-Warby Parker alliance is expected to launch after 2025.
When you’re wearing glasses all day, you want them to match your style. That’s why we’re working with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, who will be the first eyewear partners to build glasses with Android XR. #GoogleIO pic.twitter.com/xIfRSy2eAK
— Google (@Google) May 20, 2025
It will feature prescription and non-prescription lenses and utilise multimodal AI to process audio, video, images and text in real time.
The glasses will be optimised for all-day wear and built on Android XR, Google's operating system for extended reality devices.
“Multimodal AI is perfectly suited for glasses, enabling real-time context and intelligence to augment a wearer’s surroundings,” said Dave Gilboa, Co-CEO of Warby Parker.
On the same day, Kering Eyewear, part of the Milan-based luxury group known for brands like Gucci, Cartier and Saint Laurent, also revealed its collaboration with Google.
Though financial terms were not disclosed, Kering confirmed that the AI glasses will also run on Android XR and incorporate personalised, AI-driven features for seamless integration into daily life.
The smart glasses sector is heating up, with existing competition from Meta and EssilorLuxottica’s Ray-Ban Meta glasses, as well as efforts by Amazon and Snap.
Meta has seen sales surge in this space, driven by familiar design and retail presence—an approach Google appears to be mirroring through Warby Parker’s frame styles and physical stores.
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