Baidu readies AI smart glasses to rival Meta’s Ray-Bans

BAIDU is set to unveil a pair of glasses with a built-in artificial intelligence (AI) assistant, putting up a Chinese rival to the Meta Ray-Bans that have proven a rare success in AI-powered hardware.

China’s search leader and longtime investor in AI plans to showcase the product at its annual Baidu World event in Shanghai next week, according to a source familiar with its schedule. The gadget will have built-in cameras to capture photos and video and will support voice interactions built atop Baidu’s Ernie foundation model, the source said, asking not to be named as the glasses are not yet public.

The push to monetise AI has found expression in a series of hardware introductions this year, from the Humane Ai Pin flop to Microsoft’s better-received Copilot+ PC range. The Meta Platforms smart glasses, designed in collaboration with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, are an older product that’s grown in features, capabilities and popularity this year. Meta said demand had outpaced its ability to supply new units and EssilorLuxottica has singled them out as a product driving new sales.

Beijing-based Baidu is likewise working to capitalise on more than a decade of AI development, and its smart glasses will connect to a suite of products such as Baidu Maps and its online encyclopedia, Baike. Sales of the product, which will likely cost less than Meta’s US$299, could start as soon as early 2025, the source said.

A Baidu spokesperson did not respond to an e-mailed enquiry.

The AI glasses have been developed by Baidu’s hardware division, Xiaodu, which in 2020 raised funding from investors including IDG Capital at a value of US$2.9 billion. Its key products include voice-activated speakers and wireless earbuds that also connect with Baidu’s content ecosystem.

Despite a head start in China’s ChatGPT-inspired AI frenzy, Baidu has struggled to hang on to leadership. TikTok owner ByteDance’s Doubao has in recent months taken over as China’s most popular AI chatbot, nudging Ernie Bot down in the rankings. Baidu executives have also warned that displaying AI-generated results in the company’s core search business will be a short-term negative to advertising revenue.

A slew of Chinese upstart hardware makers have introduced AI glasses with cameras and open-ear audio already, while others have focused on narrower functionality such as translation and pathfinding. Across the Pacific, Apple is exploring a push into the category with an internal study of products currently available on the market, Bloomberg News has reported. BLOOMBERG