Taiwanese technology company HTC is betting that an open artificial intelligence strategy will help it carve out market share in the fast-growing smartglasses industry, as it rolls out new AI-powered eyewear designed to work with multiple AI platforms.
Charles Huang, HTC’s Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, said the company is deliberately avoiding a closed ecosystem approach at a time when competition among large language model developers is intensifying.
“AI is advancing very fast, and large language model developers are engaged in an arms race that requires massive resources,” Huang said. “We want to leverage the strengths of different platforms instead of building a closed ecosystem.”
HTC’s newly launched VIVE Eagle smartglasses support multiple AI models, including Google’s Gemini and OpenAI, allowing users to choose which AI system powers their experience. According to Huang, this flexibility ensures users can benefit as different AI platforms improve over time.
This approach sets HTC apart from rivals such as Meta, whose Ray-Ban and Oakley smartglasses are built around Meta AI, as well as Chinese manufacturers like Xiaomi and Alibaba, which rely on domestically developed AI models. Meta currently dominates the market, accounting for 73% of global smartglasses shipments, according to research firm Counterpoint. Overall shipments surged 110% in the first half of the year, highlighting growing consumer interest in AI-enabled wearables.
HTC launched the VIVE smartglasses earlier this month in Hong Kong at a price of HK$3,988 (about $512). The company plans to expand sales to Japan and Southeast Asia in the first quarter of next year, with Europe and the United States targeted later in 2026.
Huang said the Asia-first rollout reflects design considerations, noting that many smartglasses on the market are built around a “Western fit” that may not suit Asian users. He added that while China remains an important market, entry will require careful planning due to restrictions on foreign AI services and strict local data regulations that mandate domestic data storage.
“With all these requirements in place, we need to be cautious and it will take some time to prepare,” he said.
Privacy is emerging as a key concern in the smartglasses market, particularly as AI features become more deeply integrated into consumer devices. Meta has faced scrutiny over how user data is leveraged to power its AI tools across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Huang said HTC views privacy and data security as major differentiators, stressing that user data is not used to train its AI models. According to him, protecting user data is central to HTC’s strategy as it competes against larger players.
The launch of the VIVE AI smartglasses also signals a renewed push by HTC into consumer hardware, following its decision earlier this year to sell part of its extended reality headset and smartglasses unit to Google for $250 million. With an open AI approach and a focus on privacy, HTC is positioning itself as an alternative in a market increasingly dominated by Big Tech ecosystems.
