Meituan, Tencent Back Even Realities to $1 Billion Valuation
Even Realities, a three-year-old startup based in Shenzhen, has secured $150 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Meituan and previous investor Tencent; this round valued the startup at $1 billion.
Founder and CEO Will Wang informed TechCrunch that although competitors pursue camera-enabled devices focused on content capture and AI, his company is investing in display-first glasses that project information directly into the wearer’s field of vision while maintaining privacy.
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Even was founded by former Apple engineers in 2023. CEO Wang was involved with the Apple Watch and iPhone; other co-founders had backgrounds in technology, while two were from luxury eyewear brands, such as Lindberg. The startup acted swiftly, releasing its initial product, Even G1, in 2024, which Wang describes as the lightest waveguide smart glasses available at that time.
It even exceeded its own goal of 10,000 units to be the first company in the category to sell over 10,000 pairs, as stated by the CEO. It collected funds more quickly than anticipated, growing from 30–40 employees in 2024 to 300–400 now.
The newest flagship from the startup, Even G2, was released last November and eliminates the camera altogether. Rather, an integrated heads-up display in the frames provides information to the user, managed by a companion ring, the Even R1, which users tap and swipe to operate.
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Even’s power users rely heavily on Conversate, a co-pilot that listens to a conversation live, clarifying unknown terms or providing immediate follow-ups, and then syncing a recap to their phone. Nevertheless, Even has concentrated its investments primarily on optics (the visual display and overall optical efficiency), which Wang claims distinguishes smart glasses from other consumer devices.
The firm created a unique optical solution named Even HAO, or Holistic Adaptive Optics, which features a comprehensive design that brings together the microchip, waveguide, and prescription support from the beginning, instead of merging individually designed elements.
Over half of Even’s users are located in the US, which is its rapidly expanding market, and the majority of its developer community is also based there. The company hasn’t begun selling in China, despite producing there in multiple factories; its primary markets include the U.S., Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, and Europe.
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Even sells close to the top of the price range in its category and continues to shift significant volume, establishing itself as a profitable participant in the market, according to Wang. “Most of our customers are male professionals between 30 and 50 years old. We ran a survey and found that about a third of our users are company executives,” he adds. The frames sell for $599 plus tax; adding prescription lenses or the ring costs an additional $200–$300, bringing the average total to around $1,000.