As the trading week kicked off, scores of investors saw their way into buying Warby Parker (WRBY +13.74%). Shares of the disruptive eyewear company zoomed more than 13% higher on an update about the line of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered glasses it's developing with Alphabet unit Google.
A wearable AI product
In an edition of its product development series The Android Show and accompanying blog post, Google updated the status of its efforts with Warby Parker, that company's fellow eyewear specialist Gentle Monster, and tech industry partner Samsung to develop the next-generation glasses. It stated that the product will be launched at some point next year, without providing further details.
Image source: Getty Images.
While these aren't the first AI-assisted smart glasses on the market -- Meta Platforms, for instance, has developed a line of such products in collaboration with Ray-Ban -- they will be backed by the resources and expertise of Google developers.
The glasses will function on the tech company's Android XR operating system and utilize its Gemini AI model. The plan is to offer two basic models, one equipped with speakers, cameras, and microphones for interacting with Gemini, and one with only an in-lens display.
NYSE: WRBY
Key Data Points
Seeing the advantages
None of the companies involved in the AI glasses project has divulged the prices the eyewear might command. Given that, it's hard to judge the impact their sale might have on the fundamentals of Warby Parker and the rest of the team.
But that's almost academic; the fact that the eyewear company is involved in a cutting-edge new product line, and with strong partners to boot, is very encouraging. I believe investors were justified in trading up the company's stock on this development.
