Meta eyes stake in Ray-Ban maker in push towards smart glasses

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms Inc. is in talks with Franco-Italian luxury eyewear group EssilorLuxottica SA for a minority stake in the maker of Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Meta is weighing a stake of up to 5%, which would be valued at €4.5 billion (about $4.9 billion) at current prices, Bloomberg and the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the discussions. There is no guarantee that an investment will come through.

The eyewear company based in Charenton-le-Pont, France, trades on the Paris stock exchange, and is currently valued at €88 billion (about $96 billion).

US antitrust authorities have cleared Meta’s plan to buy a minority stake of as much as 5%, Bloomberg reported, citing two unidentified people familiar with the deal.

Spokespeople for Meta and EssilorLuxottica did not respond to emails seeking confirmation.

The Financial Times had reported on the talks earlier.

The deal will help the social media firm gain foothold in a business that is critical to bolster its position against rivals in the virtual and augmented reality segment.

Apple Inc. had released its Vision Pro headset earlier this year, while Snap Inc. has been working on mixed-reality spectacles for years.

The investment is likely to signal Meta’s commitment to developing its immersive digital universe, the metaverse.

Zuckerberg was behind the company’s shift to metaverse-related products, pumping billions of dollars into related hardware including virtual reality headsets and wearable devices.

The WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram parent tied up with EssilorLuxottica in 2021 to roll out its first Ray-Ban smart glasses, dubbed Ray-Ban Stories.

Cameras built into Wayfarer frames can capture photo and video that can be uploaded to Meta’s apps in an instant.

Newer glasses incorporate MetaAI, an AI assistant based on Meta’s Llama artificial intelligence (AI) model, which lets people ask it questions or identify landmarks in front of them.