The One Market Where Meta's New AI Glasses Can't Be Sold

Meta Platforms' new AI Ray-Ban smart glasses with a built-in display are facing three major roadblocks in the European Union, where battery rules, AI regulations, and supply constraints have derailed plans to roll out the glasses across the continent.

Bloomberg spoke with people familiar with the new AI glasses, an upgrade over the previous model, which lacked built-in optics, and warned that Meta is attempting to launch the glasses in the EU, but its manufacturing partner, EssilorLuxottica SA, will not be able to secure enough supply to support the rollout.

Compounding EssilorLuxottica's supply woes, the people warned that the delayed EU launch is also due to regulations governing AI features and batteries.

The big obstacle on the battery front is that one EU requirement mandates that devices sold on the continent must have removable batteries by 2027, which creates big design challenges for compact wearables like these glasses, as well as headlines and other similar devices.

Meta is reportedly pushing for an exemption with Brussels, arguing the rule would hurt not just glasses but other wearables across the consumer electronics market. 

Making matters worse for Meta, EU rules would also limit some of the AI functions that are key to the glasses, making a stripped-down launch very unattractive to consumers. 

EssilorLuxottica's supply woes are understandable, but Brussels's overregulation of nearly everything, including AI and batteries, shows how elected and unelected bureaucrats can slow or kill innovation.

Andrew Puzder, the US ambassador to the European Union, told an audience at an event earlier this week that the glasses will not be available in the region.

"Where is the one place in the world that you can't sell these glasses? The European Union. Why? Because the battery isn't removable," Puzder said.

Earlier this year, we cited Goldman analyst Jerry Shen's report on how the mass adoption cycle for AI glasses is just ahead, outlining the full supply chain of companies that make every component of these glasses (read here and here).