Even Realities hits $1B valuation as Meituan, Tencent back privacy-focused smart glasses

Even Realities Achieves Unicorn Status with Major Funding Round

Even Realities has secured $150 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Meituan and previous backer Tencent, propelling the smart glasses startup to a $1 billion valuation1

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. The Shenzhen-headquartered company, founded just three years ago by ex-Apple engineers, joins an increasingly competitive AI wearable market where giants like Meta and Snap are racing to integrate cameras and AI assistants into eyewear. Even Realities funding from Meituan and Tencent adds to backing from other high-profile China names including Hillhouse, Sequoia China, and Northern Light Venture Capital1

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Privacy-First Approach Sets Even Realities Apart

While competitors pursue camera-equipped devices focused on content capture and AI, Even Realities has staked its position on display-first technology that prioritizes user privacy. The company's flagship Even G2 smart glasses, launched in November, deliberately omit cameras, instead featuring a heads-up display built into the frames that feeds information directly into the wearer's line of sight1

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. Will Wang, founder and CEO who worked on Apple Watch and iPhone development from 2016 to 2018, explained that removing cameras is central to the company's privacy philosophy. "Smart glasses are probably the most personal computing device people will ever wear," Wang told TechCrunch, noting that privacy is designed into both hardware and software1

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Rapid Growth and Market Performance

The smart glasses startup has experienced explosive growth since its 2023 founding, expanding from 30-40 staff in 2024 to 300-400 employees today1

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. Even Realities blew past its own 10,000-unit target with its first product, the G1, becoming the first company in the category to sell more than 10,000 pairs, according to Wang1

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. The global smart glasses category surged 167% year-over-year in the first quarter, shipping 2.25 million units worldwide, with Meta commanding nearly 70% market share2

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. Global shipments are expected to more to double to 50 million units by 20302

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Innovative Technology and User Experience

Even Realities has invested heavily in proprietary optical technology called Even HAO, or Holistic Adaptive Optics, which integrates the microchip, waveguide, and prescription support from the start rather than combining separately designed components1

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. The Even G2 smart glasses are controlled by the Even R1 smart ring, which users tap and swipe to navigate1

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. Power users rely on Conversate copilot, which reads conversations in real time, explains unfamiliar jargon, feeds follow-ups on the fly, and syncs summaries to their phone1

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. Voice features like translation transcribe audio into text rather than storing recordings, with user data encrypted to meet Europe's strict privacy standards1

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Target Market and Global Expansion Strategy

More than half of Even Realities' user base sits in the U.S., its fastest-growing market, along with approximately 80% of its developer community1

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. Despite manufacturing in Shenzhen across several factories, the company doesn't sell in China yet, focusing instead on the U.S., Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Europe1

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. The frames retail for $599 before tax, with prescription lenses or the ring adding another $200-$300, pushing the average order to roughly $1,0001

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. Most customers are male professionals between 30 and 50 years old, with about a third being company executives, according to company surveys1

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. Wang stated the company is profitable despite selling near the top of the category on price while moving real volume1

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