Even Realities Ltd., a Shenzhen-based smart glasses startup, has raised $150 million in funding at a $1 billion valuation.

TechCrunch reported today that the round was led by Meituan, China’s largest food delivery provider. WeChat parent company Tencent Inc. participated as well.

Even Realities’ flagship product is a $599 pair of smart glasses called the Even G2. Its lenses feature a miniature display with two “layers.” The first layer shows notifications, while the second layer, which appears as if it were an inch farther from the user’s eyes, shows longer text snippets and maps.

The content on the display is rendered by seven projectors built into the Even G2’s frame. According to Even Realities, the projectors generate light using a technology called MicroLED that is most commonly found in high-end TVs. MicroLED renders images using tiny semiconducting structures that glow when a current runs through them.

The light from the projectors goes through a so-called waveguide before reaching the Even G2’s lenses. A waveguide is a device that changes the trajectory of photons. The one in the Even G2 includes a so-called gradient grating, a mesh-like structure composed of differently-sized modules. The modules spread small images over a larger field of view to improve the user experience.

The Even G2 doesn’t include a camera. It does, however, feature an artificial intelligence assistant called Conversate with which consumers can interact using a built-in microphone. The AI can explain technical terms that come up during a conversation and bring up relevant information.

Consumers can also interact with the smart glasses using an optional smart ring, the Even R1. It includes a miniature touchpad that makes it possible to scroll a document by swiping and bring up a menu with a long tap.

The Even R1 doubles as a health tracker. It includes biometric sensors that monitor the user’s heart rate, sleep patterns, steps and other data points. The device can sync the information that it collects to the Even G2 or a smartphone app.

Even Realities is the latest in a series of eyewear startups to have raised funding this year. Xreal Inc., a company that makes Android-powered augmented reality spectacles, nabbed $100 million in January. More recently, IXI raised $35 million to develop autofocus lenses for prescription glasses.

The largest player in the smart eyewear market is Meta Platforms Inc,. which debuted its newest pair of glasses last month. The $299 Meta Glasses provides access to the company’s Muse Spark large language model. It’s available alongside a higher-end model called Ray-Ban Display that enables the wearer to interact with the built-in display using hand gestures. 

Image: Even Realities