Warby Parker
More actions
| Warby Parker | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| Type | Public company |
| Industry | Eyewear, Eye care |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder | Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andy Hunt, Jeff Raider |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
| Notable Personnel | Neil Blumenthal (co-founder and co-CEO), Dave Gilboa (co-founder and co-CEO) |
| Products | Prescription glasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, eye exams, Intelligent Eyewear (AI glasses with Google and Samsung, announced) |
| Website | https://www.warbyparker.com |
Warby Parker (Warby Parker Inc., NYSE: WRBY) is an American eyewear company and public benefit corporation that designs and sells prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses and offers eye exams through its website, apps and retail stores. It was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in New York City.[1][2]
The company's connection to XR comes from smart glasses. In May 2025 Warby Parker announced a partnership with Google to develop AI-powered glasses on the Android XR platform, which it described as the first eyewear partnership for Android XR. Google committed up to US$150 million: up to US$75 million toward Warby Parker's product development and commercialization costs, and up to US$75 million as an equity investment, subject to milestones.[3] The glasses are being developed with Samsung, which contributes hardware engineering, and the first Warby Parker frames of the resulting intelligent eyewear line were shown at Google I/O in May 2026, with a launch planned for fall 2026.[4][5]
History
Warby Parker's four co-founders, Neil Blumenthal, Dave Gilboa, Andy Hunt and Jeff Raider, met as first-year MBA students at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Blumenthal had previously worked at VisionSpring, a nonprofit that provides glasses to people without access to them, and the group started from the question of why prescription eyewear could cost more than US$700. The company launched in February 2010.[6] It began as an online seller that mailed frames to customers to try on at home, then added physical stores; it launched a line of daily contact lenses in 2019.[7] Its first permanent retail store opened in New York in 2013.[1]
In June 2021 the company elected to become a public benefit corporation under Delaware law.[1] It went public through a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange on 29 September 2021. The shares opened at US$54.05 against a US$40 reference price and closed the first day at US$54.49, which CNBC said valued the company at more than US$6 billion based on shares outstanding.[7]
By 31 December 2025 Warby Parker operated 323 retail stores in the United States and Canada, 285 of them offering in-person eye exams, and had more than 4,000 employees. Net revenue for 2025 was US$871.9 million, up 13.0% from US$771.3 million in 2024. The company lists glasses with prescription lenses starting at US$95.[1] It ended the second quarter of 2026 with 352 stores.[8] Blumenthal and Gilboa are the company's co-CEOs.[1]
XR work
Virtual Try-On
In February 2019 Warby Parker added Virtual Try-On, an augmented reality feature, to its iPhone app. It used the face-mapping capability of the TrueDepth camera, the hardware behind Face ID, to show the company's frames on the user's face, so it required an iPhone X or newer model.[9] Marketing Dive reported that the feature was built with Apple's ARKit, that Warby Parker used a proprietary algorithm to position the virtual frames more accurately, and that an earlier web-based try-on tool had been withdrawn because glasses have to line up with the ears, eyes and nose more closely than a simple face filter.[10] Before Virtual Try-On, the app had already used the TrueDepth camera to recommend frames from face measurements.[9] The company's 2025 annual report calls Virtual Try-On the first true-to-scale virtual try-on.[1]
Google partnership
Warby Parker entered an agreement with Google LLC on 19 May 2025 and announced the partnership the next day, during Google I/O.[2][11] Under the agreement, Warby Parker may at its option sell up to US$75 million of its Class A or Class C common stock to Google if certain commercial milestones are reached.[2] The press release said the first line of glasses would launch "after 2025", would use multimodal AI, and would be available with prescription and non-prescription lenses.[3] Warby Parker shares rose 15.6% that day. CNBC and TechCrunch both compared the deal to the smart glasses partnership between Meta and Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica.[11][12]
In its own I/O 2025 announcement, Google said it was working with eyewear brands "starting with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker" to make glasses with Android XR, and that it was extending its Samsung partnership from headsets to glasses to build a software and reference hardware platform. It named Kering Eyewear as a later partner.[13] In a December 2025 hands-on, 9to5Google reported that Google planned "AI glasses" for 2026 in two forms, one without a display (with cameras, microphones and speakers) and one with a single "monocular" display, and named Samsung, working with Warby Parker and Gentle Monster, as Google's partners for the glasses.[14]
Warby Parker accounts for the arrangement as a collaborative arrangement in which Google is not a customer; costs that Google reimburses are recorded as a reduction of selling, general and administrative expenses. The company recorded US$3.3 million of such reimbursable costs in 2025 and US$6.4 million in the first half of 2026, and had incurred US$9.7 million in total as of 30 June 2026.[1][15]
Intelligent Eyewear
On 19 May 2026, at Google I/O, Google and Samsung previewed two of the first designs from the Gentle Monster and Warby Parker collections. Google said audio glasses, which give spoken help through the frames, would launch first "later this fall", with display glasses to follow. The glasses use the Gemini assistant (activated with "Hey Google") for tasks such as navigation, calls and messages, photo capture and live translation, and work with both Android and iOS phones.[4] Samsung described them as a companion device to a phone and said the launch would be in fall 2026 in select markets.[5] Co-CEO Dave Gilboa said in Samsung's release that "Eyewear is deeply personal, which is why every detail matters when integrating advanced technology into frames people wear every day".[5]
Warby Parker's first design is a light, flexible nylon frame with a dark green finish, sold both as sunglasses and as prescription glasses, with speakers and cameras built in.[16] The company said the initial assortment would include several optical and sun styles supporting a broad range of prescriptions, and that the design drew on its New York design archive and its own fit and comfort data.[17] UploadVR noted that the first models have no display even though Google's earlier prototypes had in-lens displays, and that Google declined to confirm the number of cameras or other technical details.[18]
Samsung showed a second Warby Parker style at Galaxy Unpacked in London on 22 July 2026, a frame with a subtly upswept brow line in brown. Samsung said it worked with both eyewear partners on fit points such as the forehead and ears.[19] In its second-quarter 2026 results on 6 August 2026, Warby Parker said it would unveil its first Intelligent Eyewear collection "in just a few weeks" and that its full-year guidance included launch expenses but no revenue from the product.[8]
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 19-20 May 2025 | Agreement with Google signed and partnership announced at Google I/O; Google commits up to US$150 million | Warby Parker[2][3] |
| 8 December 2025 | 9to5Google reports that Android XR glasses with and without displays will launch in 2026, with Samsung, Warby Parker and Gentle Monster as partners | 9to5Google[14] |
| 19 May 2026 | First Warby Parker design previewed at Google I/O 2026 | Google, Samsung[4][5] |
| 22 July 2026 | Second Warby Parker design shown at Galaxy Unpacked, London | Samsung[19] |
| Fall 2026 (planned) | Launch of the first collection in select markets | Samsung[5] |
The device itself, its specifications and its release status are covered in Samsung Intelligent Eyewear.
Products
| Product or service | Notes |
|---|---|
| Prescription glasses and sunglasses | Designed in-house in New York; prices with prescription lenses start at US$95[1] |
| Contact lenses | Daily contact lens line launched in 2019[7] |
| Eye exams and Virtual Vision Test | In-person exams in most stores; Virtual Vision Test is a telehealth app for renewing prescriptions[1] |
| Virtual Try-On | AR frame try-on in the iPhone app, launched February 2019[9] |
| Intelligent Eyewear | AI glasses developed with Google and Samsung on Android XR; first collection planned for fall 2026[4][5] |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 "Warby Parker Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Warby Parker Inc.. 2026-02-26. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1504776/000150477626000006/wrby-20251231.htm. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Warby Parker Inc. Form 8-K (May 19, 2025)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Warby Parker Inc.. 2025-05-20. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1504776/000095014225001434/eh250630168_8k.htm. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Warby Parker Partners with Google To Develop Intelligent Eyewear (Exhibit 99.1)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Warby Parker Inc.. 2025-05-20. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1504776/000095014225001434/eh250630168_ex9901.htm. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Shahram Izadi (2026-05-19). "Intelligent eyewear with Gemini is coming this fall". The Keyword. Google. https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/android-xr-io-2026/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 "Samsung and Google Give First Look at New Intelligent Eyewear". Samsung Mobile Press. Samsung Electronics. 2026-05-20. https://www.samsungmobilepress.com/articles/samsung-google-new-intelligent-eyewear. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Megan Kauffman (2013-05-10). "Neil Blumenthal Shares the Warby Parker Story". Wharton Magazine. University of Pennsylvania. https://magazine.wharton.upenn.edu/digital/neil-blumenthal-shares-the-warby-parker-story/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Lauren Thomas (2021-09-29). "Warby Parker opens at $54.05 per share in public debut on NYSE, soaring more than 30% above reference price". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/29/warby-parker-direct-listing-wrby-starts-trading-on-the-nyse.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Warby Parker Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results (Exhibit 99.1)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Warby Parker Inc.. 2026-08-06. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1504776/000150477626000015/warbyparkerincearningsrele.htm. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 AJ Dellinger (2019-02-04). "Warby Parker's iPhone app lets you try on glasses in AR". Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/2019-02-04-warby-parker-virtual-try-on-app.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Robert Williams (2019-02-05). "Warby Parker eyes mobile AR with virtual try-on tool". Marketing Dive. https://www.marketingdive.com/news/warby-parker-eyes-mobile-ar-with-virtual-try-on-tool/547668/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Samantha Subin (2025-05-20). "Warby Parker pops 16% on $150 million Google smart glasses partnership". CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/20/warby-parker-google-glasses-xr.html. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Maxwell Zeff (2025-05-20). "Google commits $150M to develop AI glasses with Warby Parker". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/20/google-commits-150m-to-develop-ai-glasses-with-warby-parker/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Shahram Izadi (2025-05-20). "A new look at how Android XR will bring Gemini to glasses and headsets". The Keyword. Google. https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/platforms/android/android-xr-gemini-glasses-headsets/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Abner Li (2025-12-08). "Hands-on: Google Glass is now real with 'monocular' Android XR glasses coming in 2026". 9to5Google. https://9to5google.com/2025/12/08/android-xr-glasses-displays-2026/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ "Warby Parker Inc. Quarterly Report (Form 10-Q) for the quarter ended June 30, 2026". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Warby Parker Inc.. 2026-08-06. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1504776/000150477626000019/wrby-20260630.htm. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Rei Padla (2026-05-26). "Google's Answer to Meta Ray-Bans: Warby Parker Glasses". The Gadgeteer. https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/26/google-warby-parker-intelligent-wear-samsung-glasses/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ Tatiana Walk-Morris (2026-05-28). "Warby Parker to enter new category with Intelligent Eyewear". Retail Dive. https://www.retaildive.com/news/warby-parker-intelligent-eyewear-smart-frames-AI/821098/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ David Heaney (2026-06-10). "Google Gemini Smart Glasses Launching In Fall To Take On Meta". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/gemini-smart-glasses-are-launching-in-fall-to-take-on-ray-ban-meta/. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Samsung Brings Galaxy Ecosystem Into Everyday Eyewear". Samsung Global Newsroom. Samsung Electronics. 2026-07-22. https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-brings-galaxy-ecosystem-into-everyday-eyewear. Retrieved 2026-09-29.