Ali AI smart glasses project exposed, Micro LED ushered in new opportunities

On April 8, Weishen Information Wellsenn XR brought a piece of heavy news at night: Alibaba had finalized the project plan for AI smart glasses, and it chose a single green Micro LED optical machine module. Currently, Alibaba is vigorously carrying out recruitment work and actively expanding its team. It plans to officially launch this product by the end of 2025.
在 AI 眼镜热潮的席卷下，Micro LED 技术在今年迎来了又一轮蓬勃发展。This is not only related to technological innovation, but also means reshaping the entire industry landscape.
From CES at the beginning of this year to the recent MWC, new AI glasses products have sprung up like bamboo shoots, and many companies have joined this potential track.
从今年年初的 CES 到近期的 MWC，AI 眼镜新品如雨后春笋般不断涌现，众多企业纷纷投身这一充满潜力的赛道。According to reports, Ali's planned AI smart glasses will be launched in two versions: one is basic AI smart glasses without display functions, and the other is AI+AR smart glasses that integrate display technology. The latter's research and development priority is higher.
AR 版本的眼镜将采用表面浮雕光栅衍射光波导技术，并搭载单绿色的 Micro LED 光机模组。At the AI application level, this smart glasses will carry out in-depth cooperation with Ali's AI flagship product Quark to achieve comprehensive functional upgrades.
据悉，阿里 AI 智能眼镜的研发工作主要由智能信息事业群旗下的天猫精灵团队主导。In terms of hardware configuration, this product will surpass Ray-Ban Meta and adopt the dual-chip dual-system architecture of Qualcomm AR1 chip and Hengxuan BES2800. Like Ray-Ban Meta, its glasses camera uses Sony IMX681 CMOS with 12 million pixels. The camera module is provided by Li Jing, and the OEM of the whole machine is handled by Li Xun.
It is worth noting that Ali's layout in the field of smart glasses has already been fully launched.
值得留意的是，阿里在智能眼镜领域的布局早已全面展开。On January 2, 2025, Thunderbird Innovation RayNeo and Alibaba Cloud held a strategic signing ceremony. Alibaba Cloud Tongyi series of large models will provide comprehensive AI technology and product support for Thunderbird Innovation AI glasses. At present, Tongyi AI has been successfully applied to Rokid Glasses AR glasses. As early as June 2023, Alibaba Cloud became a shareholder of Micro LED company JBD through A + round of financing. Enterprise check data shows that Alibaba Cloud currently holds 1.1741% of JBD. In addition to Ali, JBD has also received investment from Geely, BYD and other companies. It can be seen that Alibaba Cloud has built a full-link layout in the field of smart glasses, deepened the AI application ecosystem from a technical level, and seized the commanding heights of display technology in the investment field. At the same time, driven by the AI glasses craze, Micro LED technology has ushered in new development opportunities this year.
AI glasses craze helps Micro LEDs move forward
Coincidentally, on April 7, Microlight Technology announced that its AR glasses clip Xuanjing M5 will be officially launched on April 9.
无独有偶，4 月 7 日，微光科技宣布其 AR 眼镜夹片玄景 M5 将于 4 月 9 日正式上市发售。This product is the world's first smart AR clip glasses and weighs only 25.8 grams. Compared with similar products, the weight is reduced by about 40%. It uses Micro LED and binocular diffractive optical waveguide technology to project a large 86-inch high-definition screen equivalent to 4 meters away, and the peak brightness in the eye is as high as 1500nits. The product form of clip-on glasses fully demonstrates one of the significant advantages of Micro LEDs-thinness and lightness. The combination of Micro LEDs and optical waveguide technology has effectively promoted the development of AI glasses towards thinness and lightness. With the continuous improvement of AI's large model capabilities, this technical solution has also been more widely promoted.
Recently, Zhige Technology, a leading domestic optical waveguide manufacturer, completed a new round of 100 million yuan financing.
近期，国内领先的光波导厂商至格科技完成了新一轮亿元级融资。The company has built the first fully automatic batch production line of diffractive optical waveguides in China, with a monthly production capacity of 100,000 pieces, and has achieved mass production and shipment of 20,000 pieces in a single month. In March, Micro LED company Noros Technology completed Series A financing and announced in the same month that the first phase of its Micro LED micro display chip production line was officially put into production. This series of developments shows that Micro LED technology is constantly moving towards a new stage of development driven by the AI glasses craze.