The dream AR glasses need a crisp digital image floating right in front of your face while you still see through to the real world — and the thing that does this is a sheet of clear glass about 1 millimeter thick called a waveguide. It takes the image from a tiny display hidden in the temple, then bends the light around and releases it exactly at your eye. Sounds simple, but this is the part with the lowest yield, highest cost, and hardest manufacturing in the whole pair of AR glasses — the waveguide lens alone once made Meta Orion cost about ~$10,000 per unit to build. This lesson drills into the "light-guiding optics" specifically; the "display that makes the image" is the story of its sibling next door, Micro-Displays.
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Waveguides & AR Optics▲6
Lante Optics first-half net profit attributable to parent rises 163.2% year on year to 272 million yuan
Lante Optics released its 2026 interim report, showing first-half net profit attributable to the parent rose 163.2% year on year to 272 million yuan. Operating revenue was 1.01 billion yuan, up 75.5% year on year. Net profit attributable to the parent after deducting non-recurring items was 267 million yuan, up 172.0% year on year. Net operating cash flow was 391 million yuan, up 148.5% year on year. Second-quarter operating revenue was 561 million yuan, up 74.7% year on year, and net profit attributable to the parent was 143 million yuan, up 146.5% year on year. The company said its optical prism, optical lens, and optical wafer businesses all improved significantly, benefiting from demand for micro-prisms in consumer electronics, rapid growth in optical communications, and accelerating deployment of augmented reality applications.
Vuzix Corporation reported its second quarter 2026 results, with total revenues decreasing 14% to $1.1 million from $1.3 million in the prior-year period. The company posted a net loss of $7.7 million, or $0.09 per share, compared to a loss of $7.7 million, or $0.10 per share, a year earlier. Gross loss improved 15% to $0.6 million, while research and development expenses rose 20% to $3.1 million. Vuzix ended the quarter with $17.3 million in cash and no debt, and highlighted initial deliveries of its Ultralite Pro glasses to Amazon and waveguide systems to a global automaker.
Myrias Optics Names Ben Cherniawski Director of Production
Myrias Optics has appointed Benjamin Cherniawski as its Director of Production. He will lead the development and scale-up of the company's manufacturing capabilities and new production facility, overseeing process development, production operations, metrology strategy, quality systems, equipment implementation, and manufacturing readiness as Myrias transitions next-generation metaoptics from advanced R&D into high-volume production. Cherniawski brings more than seven years of experience from Apple, where he served as a Materials and Process Integration Lead and Technical Program Leader across multiple Vision and Display technology programs. His background spans advanced optical materials, wafer-level processing, process development, reliability engineering, manufacturing scale-up, supplier qualification, statistical process control, and cross-functional technical leadership for complex electro-optical systems. Myrias Optics focuses on wafer-level metaoptics, diffractive optics, and AR waveguides, using proprietary all-inorganic nanoimprinting technology to deliver precision optical components with industry-leading material performance and a clear path to production-scale deployment.
Nika Optics Completes Nearly 100 Million Yuan Series A Funding Round
Nika Optics announced the completion of a Series A funding round of nearly 100 million yuan. This round was jointly invested by BOC International Investment, Tianjin Binhai Industrial Fund, Gobi Partners, China Securities, and Allwinner Technology. The funds will mainly be used for the production line launch of volume holographic optical waveguides and to accelerate technological iteration.
Susquehanna Raises Applied Materials Price Target to $900
Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini raised the price target on Applied Materials to $900 from $575 while maintaining a Positive rating. The analyst cited channel checks indicating an expanding SCE backlog extending beyond one year, with wafer fab equipment spending reaching as high as $300 billion or more in 2026 and 2027 estimates, along with new 2028 projections. Separately, Reuters reported on June 16 that Applied Materials signed a long-term agreement with EssilorLuxottica to develop augmented reality display technology and AI glasses, with plans to scale commercialization and focus on advanced optical technologies.
Tengjing Technology invests 35 million yuan to set up subsidiary consolidating AR optics business
Tengjing Technology announced plans to invest 35 million yuan from its own or self-raised funds to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary, Tengjing Vision Technology Kunshan Company Limited, consolidating research and development, production, and sales resources for AR consumer optics to achieve centralized operations. The company will form a collaborative model of Kunshan manufacturing plus Nanjing R&D plus Fuzhou support, accelerating the industrialization of AR optical waveguides and optical engine modules. This investment carries risks including business registration, asset transfer, and subsequent operational management.
Snap launches $2,200 AR glasses amid business struggles
Snap has introduced its first standalone augmented reality glasses, Specs, priced at $2,200, as the company faces financial headwinds and skepticism about the product's viability. The glasses feature a 51-degree field of view, advanced nanostructure waveguides, and an integrated multimodal AI assistant through partnerships with OpenAI and Google. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel positioned the device as a smartphone replacement, but critics point to a four-hour battery life and a bulky design that falls short of everyday eyewear. The launch comes as Snap reported a net loss in Q1, with daily active users growing just 5% year-over-year, and after the company cut 16% of its workforce and saw its CFO depart. Snap has burned about $3 billion on hardware over 11 years, and the company carries $3.5 billion in debt against $2.8 billion in cash.
Citi Raises Applied Materials Price Target to $710 on NAND Demand Outlook
Citi analyst Atif Malik raised the price target on Applied Materials to $710 from $550 while maintaining a Buy rating, citing updated wafer fabrication equipment forecasts and a roll forward to 2028 earnings estimates. The firm highlighted a widening gap between memory demand and available DRAM supply that should accelerate investment in complementary semiconductor technologies and manufacturing capacity. Separately, EssilorLuxottica and Applied Materials announced a long-term joint development agreement to commercialize next-generation intelligent optical systems for augmented reality and AI-powered smart glasses, combining eyewear design with materials engineering and waveguide technology.
Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica Sign Long-Term Deal for AI Glasses
Applied Materials and EssilorLuxottica have signed a long-term agreement to develop augmented reality display technology and AI glasses, Reuters reported on June 16. The companies plan to scale up the commercialization of AI glasses, with research and development focused on advanced optical technologies. In a separate development, Barclays raised its price target on Applied Materials to $590 from $500 on June 11, maintaining an Overweight rating, citing a stronger capex cycle and expectations of over $200 billion in wafer fab equipment sales in 2027.