Even Realities Raises $150 Million At $1 Billion Valuation

TechCrunch reported that Even Realities has raised $150 million at a $1 billion valuation for display-first smart glasses, giving the three-year-old Shenzhen startup more capital as larger rivals push camera-equipped AI eyewear.

Meituan led the pre-Series B round and Tencent, already a backer, also took part.

Founder and CEO Will Wang said the company is betting on glasses that put information in the wearer’s line of sight instead of building the product around camera capture.

The funding gives Even more capital in a category where Meta and Snap have been adding AI assistants and cameras to wearable devices.

Even’s pitch is narrower: keep the camera out, make the display useful, and sell the glasses as a daily computing surface rather than a content-capture device.

Even G2 Uses A Heads-Up Display And Ring Controls

Even’s current flagship, the Even G2, reached the market last November.

It does not include a camera.

The glasses use a heads-up display in the frames, while the Even R1 companion ring lets users tap and swipe to control the interface.

Wang said the camera-free design is part of the company’s privacy approach.

He said smart glasses are likely to be among the most personal computers people wear because they sit on the face through the day, so Even is trying to make the product comfortable for both the wearer and nearby people.

The company’s voice features, including translation, transcribe audio into text rather than storing recordings, Wang said.

He also said user data is encrypted and that Even’s infrastructure is designed to meet strict European privacy standards.

Optics Investment Separates Even From Phone-Like Wearables

TechCrunch reported that Even was founded in 2023 by former Apple engineers and eyewear specialists.

Wang worked on the Apple Watch and iPhone, while other co-founders came from technology and luxury eyewear backgrounds, including Lindberg.

TechCrunch reported that the startup launched its first product, Even G1, in 2024.

Wang described that model as the lightest waveguide smart glasses on the market at the time.

Wang said Even has invested most heavily in optics, including the display and overall optical performance.

He said smart glasses differ from phones and watches because the product requires the microchip, optics and waveguide to be designed together.

Even calls its proprietary optical system Even HAO, or Holistic Adaptive Optics.

The company says the design integrates the microchip, waveguide and prescription support from the start instead of combining separately designed components later.

Sales Target Was 10,000 Pairs Before Staff Grew

Even has moved beyond its original sales target.

Wang said the company passed its own 10,000-unit goal and became the first company in the category to sell more than 10,000 pairs.

Wang said Even grew from 30–40 staff in 2024 to 300–400 staff today, while the latest financing arrived faster than the company initially expected.

The customer profile remains specific.

Wang said most buyers are male professionals between 30 and 50 years old, and that an Even survey found about a third of users are company executives.

Pricing keeps the product near the high end of the category.

The frames retail for $599 before tax, while prescription lenses or the Even R1 ring add another $200–$300, pushing the average order to roughly $1,000, Wang said.

U.S. Users Lead Demand While China Sales Wait

Wang said more than half of Even’s users are in the U.S., which is also the company’s fastest-growing market and home to most of its developer community.

Even manufactures in China across several factories, but it does not yet sell there.

The company’s main markets are the U.S., Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and Europe.

Wang said demand in China is significant, but the company wants to be prepared before entering that market.

Even has named its funding size, valuation, core investors, product route, pricing and broad market footprint.

The company has not disclosed shipment splits by region, gross margin, factory capacity, developer numbers, China approval status or a launch date for sales in China.