China’s INMO Races Ahead of Meta in AI Glasses Innovation, Eyes Profitability by Year-End

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Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses may be making global headlines, but in China’s fast-moving AI+AR market, domestic innovators are already two steps ahead. “Meta’s Ray-Ban Display has indeed become a bestseller—but that’s a solution from two years ago,” INMO CEO Yang Longsheng told AsianFin.

“We’ve already released two generations of products, while Meta is only now launching its first. You could say people perceive us as being on the same timeline, but in reality, Chinese companies move much faster than the big U.S. tech firms.”

That speed is paying off. As China’s AI+AR industry enters what analysts call a “hundred-billion-yuan opportunity,” shipments of AI/AR glasses are projected to hit 900,000 units in 2025. Riding that wave, INMO’s newly launched GO3 AI glasses are off to a strong start: pre-orders surpassed 20,000 units and 50 million yuan in sales within just three days of launch.

Yang believes success in the consumer market hinges not just on functionality but on fashion. “AI glasses should be a blend of style and practicality,” he said. “If you want mass adoption, fashion comes first.”

Globally, Meta remains the only company to have sold more than a million AI glasses units. In China, despite what local media call the “Hundred Glasses Battle,” no single model has crossed the 500,000-unit mark. Many brands have focused on showing off technical capabilities, but the consumer use case remains elusive.

“In consumer electronics, hitting one million units is a key milestone,” Yang noted. “It might take two to three years to get there. At this stage, it’s about focusing on the right scenarios—not doing everything, but doing a few things extremely well.”

Over the past year, Meta’s strong sales have ignited interest in AI glasses worldwide. Yet Yang points out that Meta’s success owes more to its fashion appeal than to its AI features. “AI glasses are still in their early days. We define them as products that ‘start with appearance and end with practicality.’ Just like traditional glasses, people buy them because they look good—then they explore what they can do.”

Guided by this philosophy, INMO redesigned the GO3 from the ground up. Instead of the bulky black frames common in smart glasses, the GO3 integrates its core components into the temples and central optical module. The result: a sleeker, lighter profile that looks more like designer eyewear than a gadget.

According to Yang, the temples are still made using conventional consumer electronics processes, but the frames are CNC five-axis precision engraved, raising the bar for craftsmanship. INMO also plans to release new frame shapes and colors quarterly, treating AI glasses as fashion accessories as much as tech devices.

Unlike competitors chasing all possible use cases—from entertainment to photography—INMO is taking a focused approach. “Whether it’s swappable batteries or dual-chip architecture, everything is designed to maximize battery life while keeping the glasses lightweight,” said Yang. “Our power consumption is half that of our competitors. We’re not trying to do everything—focus matters more than feature overload.”

For now, INMO is concentrating on translation and productivity tools. The GO3 supports real-time two-way translationin nine languages, with 98% accuracy and offline support. Yang revealed that nearly three years of R&D went into refining the on-device translation model. “It’s a single-function model customized for this device—the hardware simply doesn’t allow a universal AI model.”

China leads the world in the number of AI glasses brands and product iterations, but even combined, domestic sales still trail Meta’s. The key difference, Yang argues, lies in supply chain power.

“Meta can define its supply chain—it can tell optical or chip suppliers to build exactly what it needs,” he explained. “Chinese companies, for now, rely on more standardized components. That’s the main limitation.”

Yet speed remains China’s ace card. “Sometimes Meta spends two years developing something that a Chinese manufacturer can achieve in one,” said Yang. “That’s our advantage—our production efficiency and yield rates are much higher. Chinese companies have a real chance to dominate this sector.”

Still, challenges remain. The return rate for AI glasses in China is around 30%, often due to a mismatch between marketing hype and real-world experience. To address that, INMO is doubling down on offline retail. The company has partnered with LOHO, EssilorLuxottica, and Asia Optical to open over 2,000 experience stores, where consumers can test the glasses in person.

“At this stage, service matters more than innovation,” Yang said. “Once users can try them and compare with Meta, they realize Chinese tech isn’t behind at all. That’s how we cross the chasm into the mass market.”

INMO expects to sell around 100,000 units this year and 300,000 next year. For Yang, one million units remains the psychological barrier that will transform the category. “It will take two to three years—but once we cross that line, the market will explode.”

Yang’s strategy emphasizes restraint—in both product development and marketing. “You can’t just pile on features or spend recklessly on promotion,” he said. “We’re playing a long game.”

That’s a bold stance in a market where giants like Xiaomi, Alibaba, and Baidu are all entering the fray. But Yang views their presence as positive. “Big companies do take some users, but they also educate the market,” he said. “This year, overall attention on AI glasses is up three- to five-fold.”

Xiaomi’s entry, for instance, tripled overall traffic to AI glasses listings—half went to Xiaomi, but the other half benefited startups like INMO. “Our sales rose by nearly 1.5 times after Xiaomi launched its glasses,” Yang revealed. “Consumers aren’t easily swayed by big names—they care about the experience.”

He added, “If Xiaomi sold 200,000 units and we sold 100,000, the gap isn’t that large. Their R&D investment is actually lower, and the experience isn’t necessarily better. We’re all still at the starting line.”

Despite growing competition, INMO’s confidence stems from financial discipline. The company expects 2025 revenue to reach nearly 200 million yuan, almost triple last year’s figure. If sales remain strong through year-end, Yang says INMO could break even for the first time—a milestone that would make it the first profitable AI glasses company in the world.

Behind that calm confidence lies an even bigger ambition: an IPO within three years. “Compared with our peers, our plan is actually conservative,” Yang said with a smile. “The next round of financing is already being finalized and will be officially announced by the end of the year.”