Veteran Smart Meggers maker Vuzix has announced it will secure a $5 million investment from Taiwan-based ODM and leading Apple assembler Quanta Computer.
The latest investment was the second trancher, following Quanta’s first $10 million investment in September 2024. This includes purchasing Vuzix common stock at $1.30 per share. At the time, Vuzix was expecting a total of $20 million from Quanta.
Paul Travers, president and CEO of Vuzix, said the funds will be used to enhance Vuzix’s WaveGuide Manufacturing Capability.
Additionally, Travers said the investment “mark another important milestone in strengthening our partnership with Quanta and expanding the capabilities of our state-of-the-art waveguide production facilities.”
Founded in 1997, Vuzix mainly serves businesses with the evolving slate of smart glasses, targeting many industrial roles such as healthcare, manufacturing and warehouses.
The company also produces its own waveguides for both in-house use and licensing. In the past, Vuzix has worked to integrate its vibration tube technology with Garmin, Avegant, the unnamed US Fortune 50 Tech Company, and anonymous US defense suppliers.
The company created several early consumer devices in the 2010s, including the V920 video eyewear and the Star 1200 AR headset in November 2024, but Vuzix introduced the Z100 smart glasses, the first pair of sophisticated AI-assisted smart glasses at a price of $500.
Its Z100 smart glasses include a 640 x 480 monochrome green micro-ring waveguide, designed to target notifications, fitness metrics, maps, everyday consumers and enterprise customers in combination with a smartphone.
In particular, this investment is also generally consistent with strengthening market interest in smart glasses. Last month, Google announced that it will partner with eyewear company Warby Parker and Gentle Monster to release a line of fashionable smart glasses running Android XR.
Meta recently confirmed that it is expanding its partnership with Ray-Ban Metamaker Esilol Luxottica to create Oaklevel brand smart glasses, which are scheduled to be released on June 20, 2025.
Meanwhile, rumors suggest that both Samsung and Apple are aiming to release their own smart glasses in the near future, with reports claiming that Samsung can release devices this year and Apple soon next year.
