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Meta unveils smart glasses with built-in display, eyes AI “superintelligence”

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Meta Platforms (META.O) launched its first consumer-ready smart glasses with a built-in display on Wednesday, expanding its Ray-Ban line as part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s push toward artificial intelligence “superintelligence.”

Unveiled at Meta’s annual Connect event in Menlo Park, California, the new Ray-Ban Display glasses include a digital screen embedded in the right lens for tasks such as notifications. Priced at $799, they will be available starting September 30 and ship with a wristband that translates hand gestures into commands like responding to messages or answering calls.

“Glasses are the ideal form factor for personal superintelligence, because they let you stay present in the moment while getting access to all of these AI capabilities that make you smarter, help you communicate better, improve your memory, improve your senses, and more,” Zuckerberg said.

The launch highlights Meta’s bid to stay competitive in the AI race, even as it lags behind rivals like OpenAI and Google (GOOGL.O) in advanced model development. The company is investing tens of billions of dollars in AI chips and talent as it pursues its long-term vision of “Orion” glasses, slated for 2027.

Meta also introduced Oakley Vanguard glasses aimed at athletes, priced at $499, with features like real-time performance stats synced to Garmin and Strava, nine-hour battery life, and availability from October 21. Its existing Ray-Ban line also received an update, with improved cameras and nearly doubled battery life at $379.

Despite the splashy debut, analysts expect modest near-term sales for the Display glasses. IDC research manager Jitesh Ubrani said the tech offered “great value” but noted the software still needs to mature. Forrester’s Mike Proulx compared the launch to Apple’s early smartwatch push—functional but still needing to prove everyday utility.

The debut comes as Meta faces heightened scrutiny over safety issues on its platforms, with regulators and whistleblowers raising concerns about the impact of its technologies on children.

Zuckerberg, who fumbled a live demo call on stage, laughed off the glitch. “I don’t know what to tell you guys. I keep on messing this up,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.

IDC forecasts global shipments of AR/VR devices and smart glasses without displays to grow 39.2% in 2025 to 14.3 million units, with Meta expected to drive much of the increase through its more affordable Ray-Ban line.

Meta Reports Strong Q4 Sales But Forecasts Muted Outlook Amid AI Investments

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Meta Platforms (META.O) exceeded Wall Street expectations for its fourth-quarter revenue, reporting $48.4 billion, which outpaced analysts’ predictions of $47 billion. Despite this strong performance, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram issued a cautious outlook for the first quarter of 2025, with expected revenue between $39.5 billion and $41.8 billion, slightly below the analysts’ consensus of $41.72 billion.

Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, struck an optimistic tone during a conference call, focusing on the company’s AI initiatives. He expressed confidence in the open-source AI strategy, commenting that the emergence of Chinese startup DeepSeek’s AI models reinforced his belief in this direction. “There’s going to be an open-source standard globally,” Zuckerberg remarked, emphasizing that he sees it as an American standard.

However, Meta’s outlook raised questions about the company’s capital spending, as the company relies on its core social media advertising business to finance its significant AI and “metaverse” investments, such as smart glasses and augmented reality systems. Meta has already committed up to $65 billion in capital expenditures for 2025 to expand its AI infrastructure, alongside increasing AI-related hires. The company also anticipates total expenses for 2025 to be between $114 billion and $119 billion, up from $95 billion in 2024.

Jeremy Goldman, principal analyst at eMarketer, noted that while Meta’s fourth-quarter results were strong, the key issue going into 2025 is whether its substantial AI investments will pay off. He highlighted that Meta’s family daily active people (DAP) metric, which tracks unique users who open any of its apps in a day, grew by 5% year-over-year to 3.35 billion.

Meta’s results came after DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, launched new models that outperformed top U.S. competitors at a fraction of the cost, fueling concerns about the sustainability of U.S. AI business models and triggering a tech stock selloff. Zuckerberg acknowledged the challenges posed by DeepSeek but said it was too early to determine how its global impact would affect Meta’s AI strategy. He added that Meta’s AI teams were already incorporating insights from DeepSeek’s models into their work.

Meta continues to face financial losses in its metaverse-focused Reality Labs unit, which, while exceeding sales expectations, still reported a $5 billion loss in Q4. Despite these losses, Zuckerberg believes the long-term business potential of AI will become evident after 2025.

Meta’s hefty investment in AI includes plans to acquire more of Nvidia’s AI chips and develop custom silicon to train AI systems for better feed recommendations by next year. CFO Susan Li confirmed the company’s goal to use its own chips for these AI tasks. Meta’s continued investment in AI is part of its broader strategy to enhance user experiences across its platforms, while also aiming for cost reductions in AI model development.

 

Meta Elects UFC CEO Dana White, Two Others to Board

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Meta Platforms (META.O) announced on Monday the election of three new directors to its board, including Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), as well as Charlie Songhurst, an investor and former Microsoft executive, and John Elkann, CEO of Exor, a holding company controlled by Italy’s Agnelli family.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, praised the trio for their expertise in fields such as AI, wearables, and human connection, noting their addition would help the company address significant opportunities.

Dana White, who is a close associate of President-elect Donald Trump, has been involved in supporting Trump’s candidacy at the Republican National Conventions in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Zuckerberg and White have also developed a friendship, stemming from Zuckerberg’s interest in mixed martial arts and recreational fighting. In 2022, Zuckerberg publicly thanked White on Instagram for inviting him to attend a UFC event, and the UFC later shared a photo of the two in front of the Octagon.

John Elkann is the executive chairman of Stellantis NV and Ferrari, and chairs the nonprofit Agnelli Foundation. He also has notable leadership roles within Europe’s business community. Charlie Songhurst, who has been advising Meta on strategic AI opportunities since May, brings valuable insight to the company’s future direction.

Meta’s new board members come at a time when the company is positioning itself to adapt to new political and business environments. Zuckerberg has expressed regret over past content decisions that alienated conservatives, and has been openly supportive of Trump, including Meta’s donation of $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. Recently, Meta appointed Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican policy executive, as head of global affairs.