Google has acquired a 4 percent stake in South Korean eyewear brand Gentle Monster, marking its entry into the smart glasses segment. The deal, valued at approximately 107.3 million euros, positions the tech giant alongside Meta in vying for dominance in augmented reality eyewear.
Google Partners With Gentle Monster To Launch Smart Glasses
The wearable tech market is projected to reach USD 219.30 billion in 2025, per the Business Research Company. So the news makes perfect business sense that Google has invested approximately $107.3 million euros for a 4% stake in the Korean eyewear label Gentle Monster. The reports come a month after the tech giant revealed partnerships with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker to develop fashion-forward smart lenses for its new Android XR initiative.
Gentle Monster, recognised for its sculptural, avant-garde eyewear and fashion collaborations with Maison Margiela and Mugler, will lead design for a forthcoming line of extended reality glasses, slated for release in 2026, with Google’s AI and Android XR systems embedded, developed in collaboration with Samsung and powered by Gemini, Google’s AI suite.
As of the time of writing, an official launch of Gentle Monster and Google’s collaboration has not been confirmed. Gentle Monster took to Instagram to share the news of this collaboration, saying it “represents a pivotal step in the evolution of smart eyewear into essential, lifestyle fashion items… creativity and sophistication are essential design features for the integration of technology into everyday life.”
This isn’t Google’s first attempt to combine vision and technology. In 2012, Google unveiled its now- obsolete Google Glass, equipped with a camera, a small information display, and internet connectivity. A decade later, the growth of AR technologies and advanced AI has paved the way for consumer-friendly, stylish wearables.
It’s important to keep an eye on the front-runners in this transformative industry as wearable tech gadgets become hyper-personalised, proactive, and data-driven. For Google, the partnership offers both technological potential and cultural cachet. For Gentle Monster, it’s an elevation from niche fashion innovator to global tech collaborator, poised to reshape what smart eyewear can look and feel like.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
