Smart glasses growth accelerates… large capital inflows to domestic startups

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Global tech giants including Meta, Alibaba, and Samsung Electronics are successively launching AI smart glasses, drawing attention to domestic startups that possess related technologies. The venture capital (VC) industry is also actively investing in relevant startups as the smart glasses market begins to fully bloom.

According to the venture investment industry on the 29th, Spatial AI technology company Deep Pine recently completed a Series B funding round of 10 billion won. Although the initial target was between 5 billion and 7 billion won, overwhelming investment demand led to overbooking, and the final fundraising amount was increased to 10 billion won to conclude the round. This investment was led by Hyosung Venture Capital, with participation from POSCO Technology Investment and LIG Defense & Aerospace (formerly LIG Nex1).

Deep Pine is a startup developing spatial computing technology that allows AI to recognize users' surrounding spaces and objects and provide necessary information in augmented reality (AR) form. Spatial computing is considered a foundational technology for smart glasses, as it enables AI to recognize the user's environment and location in real time and deliver required information. Currently, the company provides AR solutions optimized across various industries including logistics, manufacturing, and shipbuilding based on its spatial computing technology. Kim Hyun-bae, CEO of Deep Pine, explained, "Investors highly evaluated the growth potential of spatial computing technology needed for the upcoming era of smart glasses."

The reason investors flocked to Deep Pine's Series B round lies in the rapid growth of the smart glasses market. According to market research firm Omdia, global shipments of AI smart glasses reached 8.7 million units last year, an increase of more than 300% compared to the previous year, and are expected to exceed 15 million units this year. Bae Jun-seong, Executive Vice President at Lotte Ventures, stated, "As wearable devices that allow the most natural use of AI, big tech companies are fully entering the market." He added, "In particular, Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses have received a positive response in the market, giving other companies confidence to enter the market."

Retinal, which develops optical modules, also secured pre-IPO (pre-listing equity investment) funding of 27.8 billion won on the 27th. Sixteen VCs participated in the investment, including Kolon Investment, Openwater Investment, and Lotte Ventures. Retinal develops optical modules that render images on smart glasses lenses and is preparing for full-scale mass production next year. While Deep Pine plays the role of the "brain" of smart glasses by handling spatial recognition and AR implementation, Retinal serves as the "eyes."

Startups are also emerging one after another that directly manufacture smart glasses to target niche markets. P&C Solutions and ThursLab are representative examples. P&C Solutions has independently developed and manufactured a complete industrial smart glasses product called "MetaLens," supplying it to industrial sites in manufacturing, defense, energy, and other sectors. It provides XR solutions based on smart glasses, including work manuals, remote collaboration, and design drawings with inspection items displayed, expanding its application scope centered on industrial sites. Its distinctive feature is its focus on the B2B market, such as military training, safety and education, and manufacturing sites, rather than general consumer markets.

ThursLab is developing an AI smart glasses product called "AI Eye" based on generative AI. AI Eye is an AI smart glasses that provides voice-centric functions based on large language models (LLMs) without a camera. Its distinctive feature is the ability to select and use generative AI models such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude through the dedicated app "AI Eye X."

The VC industry cites "lightweighting" and battery efficiency as key challenges for the future smart glasses market. Executive Vice President Bae stated, "While AI performance is advancing rapidly, improving hardware such as weight, battery efficiency, and comfort to allow users to wear them all day is the core challenge for market expansion." He added, "Once this issue is resolved, the mass adoption of smart glasses will accelerate further."

[MoneyToday Startup Media Platform Unicorn Factory]