Meta Buys Stake in Ray-Ban Maker EssilorLuxottica

Picture Credit: The Verge

Shares of EssilorLuxottica, the Franco-Italian eyewear giant behind Ray-Ban and Oakley, surged over 5% on Wednesday following reports that Meta Platforms has acquired a nearly 3% stake in the company. The move marks a significant deepening of the partnership between the two firms in the rapidly evolving smart glasses market.

According to sources cited by Reuters and Bloomberg, the stake Meta purchased is valued at approximately €3 billion ($3.5 billion). The tech giant is reportedly considering increasing its holding to around 5%, signaling long-term confidence in wearable technology as the next major computing platform.

Meta, which has already collaborated with EssilorLuxottica on the successful Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, aims to fuse fashion with cutting-edge artificial intelligence. In 2023, the Ray-Ban Meta glasses gained strong traction with consumers, and Meta is now expanding the product line by working with Oakley, another EssilorLuxottica brand. The upcoming Oakley Meta HSTN smart glasses will feature hands-free high-resolution cameras, open-ear speakers, water resistance, and built-in Meta AI.

Analysts view the investment as more than financial. “The investment should be read as a vote of confidence in EssilorLuxottica in the smart-glasses opportunity,” wrote analysts at Bernstein. While EssilorLuxottica declined to comment, and Meta has not responded to media inquiries, the market reaction was clear — the company’s shares became the top performer on the STOXX 600 index on Wednesday.

As Meta continues to pour billions into AI infrastructure and wearable technology, this strategic alliance could place both companies at the forefront of the AI-powered hardware race, aiming to reshape how users interact with technology in their daily lives.