Google Reportedly Taking 4% Stake In Gentle Monster To Take On Ray-Ban Meta
Google is taking a 4% stake in Gentle Monster, the South Korean eyewear company it's building a Ray-Ban Meta competitor with, The Korea Economic Daily reports.
Google is investing $100 million in Gentle Monster, The Korea Economic Daily reports.
Gentle Monster is one of the eyewear companies that Google announced at I/O it's working with to build smart glasses with Gemini AI, hoping to take on Ray-Ban Meta.
Gentle Monster glasses have become popular with younger people in the US and are worn by celebrities like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar, and Billie Eilish.
Google's investment, which is in the "final stages" of going through, would represent a 4% stake in the company, the report explains.
At I/O Google also gave an on-stage demo of Samsung-made prototype smart glasses with a small monocular heads-up display (HUD), but the company confirmed that this will be "optional" for actual products. Thus, it's still not known whether the Gentle Monster or Warby Parker glasses will have a display.
David Heaney
Last year, Meta reportedly took a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica, the largest eyewear company in the world by far, and has almost 4000 stores in the US alone. That partnership so far has seen 2 million units of Ray-Ban Meta sold, and the two companies just announced Oakley Meta HSTN glasses.
Google reportedly once tried to steal the EssilorLuxottica from Meta, but was unsuccessful. As such, it's now working with EssilorLuxottica's rising competitors instead: Gentle Monster and Warby Parker at first, followed by Kering Eyewear in the future. And in the case of Gentle Monster, The Korea Economic Daily's report suggests the link between the companies will be far greater than a simple branding deal.
The first Google-powered smart glasses are expected to launch in 2026.
