Meta mulls doubling output of Ray-Ban glasses by year end, Bloomberg News reports

Jan 13 (Reuters) – Meta and EssilorLuxottica are considering doubling the production capacity of their artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses to 20 million units annually by the end of this year, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

The potential increase, driven by strong demand, could also see capacity exceed 30 million units if market conditions warrant, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. No decision has been finalized though, it added.

Reuters could not independently verify the report.

EssilorLuxottica declined Reuters request for comment, while Meta did not immediately respond.

The European firm behind Ray-Ban glasses and the manufacturing partner of Meta is already nearing its current production target of 10 million pairs by late 2026, according to the report.

The eyewear giant said in October it would accelerate production capacity for the booming smart glasses business.

The companies began their partnership in 2019 and launched their Ray-Ban branded frames in 2021, with a promise to upend the smartphone era by letting wearers take photos and videos through tiny cameras in the lenses, stream content to Meta apps and talk to an AI assistant.

Last week, Meta said that it has paused the international expansion of the Ray-Ban Display glasses due to a supply shortage, aiming to prioritize U.S. shipments.

The latest report comes as Meta is cutting more than 1,000 jobs from the company’s Reality Labs division, according to a separate Bloomberg News report.

Meta’s Reality Labs unit, which focuses on virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality technologies, including products like Meta Quest headsets and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, has burned more than $60 billion since 2020.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Elisa Anzolin and Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)