Baidu Inc. is set to unveil a pair of glasses with a built-in AI assistant that will pit the Meta against Chinese Ray-Ban, which has proven a rare success in AI-powered hardware.
China’s search leader and longtime investor in artificial intelligence (AI) plans to showcase the product at its annual Baidu World event in Shanghai next week, according to a person familiar with its event. The gadget will have built-in cameras to capture photos and videos and will support voice interaction built on top of Baidu’s Ernie Foundation model, the person said on condition of anonymity because the specs have not yet been made public.
The effort to monetize AI has found expression in a series of hardware introductions this year, from the Humane AI pin flop to Microsoft Corp.’s better-received CoPilot+ PC range. Designed in collaboration with Ray-Ban manufacturer EssilorLuxottica SA, the Meta Platform Inc. smart glasses are an old product that has evolved in features, capabilities, and popularity this year. Meta said demand has outstripped the ability to supply new units and Essilor Luxottica has chosen them as a new sales-boosting product.
Beijing-based Baidu is similarly working to capitalize on more than a decade of AI development, and its smart glasses will join a suite of products like Baidu Maps and its online encyclopedia, Baike. Sales of the product, which will likely be priced lower than the Meta’s $299 (roughly Rs. 25,230), could begin as early as 2025, the person said.
A Baidu spokesperson did not respond to an emailed enquiry.
The AI Glasses are developed by Xiaodu, the hardware division of Baidu, which raised funding in 2020 at a valuation of $2.9 billion (roughly Rs. 24,468 crores) from investors including IDG Capital. Its flagship products include voice-activated speakers and wireless earbuds that also connect to Baidu’s content ecosystem.
Despite leading the way in China’s ChatGate-inspired AI craze, Baidu has struggled to hold on to the lead. TikTok owner ByteDance’s Doubao has taken over as China’s most popular AI chatbot in recent months, knocking Ernie bot down the rankings. Baidu executives have also warned that displaying AI-generated results in the company’s core search business would have a short-term negative for advertising revenue.
Several Chinese upstart hardware makers have already introduced AI glasses with cameras and open-ear audio, while others have focused on narrow functionality like translation and pathfinding. Across the Pacific, Apple Inc. is currently exploring the possibility of entering this category with an internal study of products currently available in the market, Bloomberg News reports.
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