The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2023-2026
Even Realities bets camera-free display glasses for daily wear; $1B by 2026
Meituan and Tencent led a $150M pre-Series B in July 2026 at a $1B valuation for Shenzhen's camera-free, display-first smart glasses maker Even Realities.
Even Realities (逸文科技)
What the business is
Even Realities is a Shenzhen smart-glasses maker founded in 2023 by ex-Apple engineers. Its G1 (2024) and G2 (November 2025) are display-first, camera-free frames: a heads-up display feeds information into the wearer's line of sight, navigated by a companion ring (Even R1), with no camera and no external speaker, sold mainly in the US, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Europe.
Starting capital：$150M pre-Series B led by Meituan (Longzhu and strategic) with Tencent and other existing shareholders over-subscribing, at a valuation above $1B (July 2026); earlier backers include HSG (formerly Sequoia China).
How it started
Founded in Shenzhen in 2023 by ex-Apple engineers, Even Realities is led by CEO Will Wang, who worked on Apple Watch and iPhone; two co-founders came from luxury eyewear companies including Lindberg. The startup launched the Even G1 in 2024 as, in Wang's words, the lightest waveguide smart glasses then on the market.
What happened
Even shipped the G2 in November 2025 with no camera at all, adding the Even R1 ring for tap-and-swipe navigation and positioning a real-time 'Conversate' copilot that reads conversations, explains jargon, and syncs summaries to the phone as its power-user feature. It says it became the first company in the category to sell more than 10,000 pairs, grew from 30-40 staff in 2024 to 300-400, and kept more than half of its users in the US while not selling in China at all. In July 2026, Meituan Longzhu and Meituan strategic led a $150M pre-Series B at a valuation above $1B, with Tencent over-subscribing; Jiemian/Xinmou framed the round as capital backing 'daily wear' over the camera-and-feature stacking of the previous two years.
No ending yet — it is still running.
Background
Even Realities (逸文科技) is a Shenzhen smart-glasses maker founded in 2023 by ex-Apple engineers — CEO Will Wang worked on Apple Watch and iPhone, and two co-founders came from luxury eyewear including Lindberg. It launched the Even G1 in 2024 as, by the company's claim, the lightest waveguide smart glasses on the market, then shipped the G2 in November 2025.
Its bet is display-first and camera-free: a heads-up display in the frames beams information into the wearer's line of sight, navigated by tapping and swiping the Even R1 ring, with no camera and no external speaker. The G2 weighs 36 grams, close to ordinary prescription glasses, uses an aerospace-grade magnesium-aluminum frame with a no-screw hinge and a monochrome Micro LED display, and runs on a proprietary optical stack called Even HAO that integrates microchip, waveguide, and prescription support from the start.
The approach attracted users and capital: Even says it became the first maker in the category to sell more than 10,000 pairs, blowing past its own target; headcount grew from 30-40 staff in 2024 to 300-400; more than half of users are in the US; and frames retail at $599 with prescription lenses or the ring pushing the average order near $1,000. In July 2026, Meituan Longzhu and Meituan strategic led a $150M pre-Series B, with Tencent over-subscribing, valuing the company above $1B.
Jiemian/Xinmou read the round as capital endorsing 'daily wear' after a year in which camera-and-feature stacking left many glasses over 45 grams and socially awkward in public, but also warned of the tradeoff: no camera means no visual understanding, so the glasses stay an information display rather than an AI platform, and a near-$1,000 price caps volume. Even does not sell in China yet, concentrating on the US, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Europe.
What has to be true
- Even targeted a measurable failure of camera-first rivals — weights above 45 grams, privacy anxiety in public, and speaker leakage — with a 36-gram frame that looks like normal premium eyewear.
- Privacy is productized: no camera at all, voice transcription without stored recordings, encrypted data, and Europe-grade privacy standards — opposite Meta and Snap's capture-first pitch.
- Capital followed the thesis: Meituan and Tencent paid for a plausible next computing entry point (glanceable information without pulling out a phone), not for current revenue.
- The optics-first bet differentiates Even from rivals who assemble bought components; its HAO stack integrates microchip, waveguide, and prescription support from day one.
- The ceiling is visible: without a camera the glasses cannot see, so they remain an information display rather than an AI platform, and a $1,000 average order limits how big the niche can get.
What can be applied
When rivals race to add cameras and AI, being the pair of glasses you forget you're wearing wins attention and capital — but no camera caps the path to visual AI.
Aftermath
As of July 2026, Even Realities is scaling at a $1B+ valuation after a $150M pre-Series B led by Meituan with Tencent over-subscribing; it has 300-400 staff, sells G2 in the US, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Europe (not China), with more than half of users in the US and an average order near $1,000. The company claims profitability and to be the first in the category to pass 10,000 pairs sold. Unproven: whether a camera-free, ~$1,000 product can reach the volume that camera rivals like Meta's Ray-Ban line (7M+ units in 2025, per Xinmou) have shown, or stays an executive niche.
Sources
- Smart glasses maker Even Realities hits $1B valuation with $150M funding led by Meituan, Tencent
- 三年跻身独角兽，智能眼镜的风向真的变了 (Xinmou via Jiemian)
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