Chinese smart glasses maker RayNeo on Monday said it secured funding from the country's major state telecommunications operators, as eyewear emerges as the next gadget with the ability to access artificial intelligence services along with smartphones.
The investment from subsidiaries of China Unicom and China Mobile comes as RayNeo debuts the world's first consumer augmented reality (AR) glasses integrated with eSIM and 4G connectivity at CES, the annual consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas, which kicks off on Tuesday.
Investors included Unicom Innovation Capital, a subsidiary of China Unicom, and CM Beijing Fund and CM Shanghai Fund, the investment arms of China Mobile. The move "marks the first strategic entry of China's major telecommunications operators into the smart glasses sector", RayNeo said in a statement.
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The telecoms operators would provide critical resources in "eSIM management, 5G-Advanced networks and content partnerships" to fuel RayNeo's product development by "enabling tighter integration of communication capabilities and cloud services", the statement said.
The RayNeo X3 Pro Project eSIM glasses are only 2 grams heavier than the regular X3 Pro model. Photo: Handout alt=The RayNeo X3 Pro Project eSIM glasses are only 2 grams heavier than the regular X3 Pro model. Photo: Handout>
RayNeo did not disclose the size of the funding, but Chinese media reported that the latest round, which included Citic Securities-owned Goldstone Investment, has exceeded 1 billion yuan (US$143 million).
RayNeo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
At CES, RayNeo will also debut its RayNeo X3 Pro Project eSIM product. The glasses, only 2 grams heavier than the regular X3 Pro model, featured a stand-alone eSIM system that allowed the device to be "liberated from smartphone dependency", the company said.
By integrating a camera, display and cellular networking directly into the frames, the new product enables seamless experiences such as streaming online music and accessing real-time translation across 14 languages directly on the glasses.
Established in 2021 and incubated by Chinese electronics giant TCL, Shenzhen-based RayNeo has become a leader in AR glasses, with a 24 per cent share of the global market in the third quarter of 2025, according to Counterpoint Research.
Competition in the smart glasses industry is set to heat up as China's Big Tech companies step up their push into the sector. Alibaba Group Holding, Baidu and Xiaomi have announced new products over the past few months. Alibaba owns the Post.
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