Hillhouse

Even Realities Raises $150M, Reaches $1B Valuation

Even Realities, a Shenzhen-based smart-glasses startup founded in 2023 by ex-Apple engineer Will Wang, raised $150 million in a pre-Series B round that values the company at $1 billion. Investors named in the round include Meituan and Tencent, alongside Chinese VC and PE backers such as CDH Investment, Monolith Management and CVC Capital; earlier rounds included Hong Kong’s Unicorn Capital Partners and Cyanhill Capital. The company sells display-first, camera-less AR glasses (Even G2) with a companion control ring (Even R1), emphasizes user privacy and has a majority of its users and roughly 80% of its developer community in the U.S. Industry data from IDC shows smart-glasses shipments surged and that Meta holds roughly 70% market share; IDC forecasts shipments could exceed 50 million by 2030. Earlier reporting in our database also notes Even Realities developed a proprietary optical system (Even HAO), has sold more than 10,000 pairs and expanded headcount substantially.

Privacy Claims Demand Substance, Not Just Buzzwords

This AdExchanger opinion piece argues that simply labeling a solution as 'privacy safe' is no longer sufficient amid increasing regulatory scrutiny. Regulators, including the FTC and the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA), are paying closer attention to how data-driven online advertising operates and how privacy claims are justified. The CPPA’s budget is small relative to Meta and Google, but its mission to protect Californians’ privacy rights remains active, while the FTC recently created an Office of Technology to help keep pace with rapid digital-market changes. The Kochava case, where the FTC alleges the company facilitated the sale of sensitive location data, underscores that enforcement can hinge on how laws are applied rather than on vague assurances of privacy. The piece calls for clear, consumer-friendly explanations of data practices and warns against relying on vague privacy platitudes.

ByteDance Predicting a Boom, Research Suggests; Facily Close a Series D - ExchangeWire.com

ExchangeWire summarizes several tech and startup developments: ByteDance is forecast to grow gross revenue by about 60% this year to around CN¥400 billion, signaling continued strength among large online ad sellers amid regulatory scrutiny in China. São Paulo-based Facily closed a USD 250 million Series D round, co-led by DX Ventures and Delivery Hero with Citius as a co-anchor investor, pushing its valuation toward unicorn status (around USD 850 million). KuCoin Labs launched the KuCoin Metaverse Fund, a USD 100 million vehicle to back early-stage metaverse, GameFi, and NFT projects. The piece also notes a forecasted metaverse market size of up to USD 814.2 billion by 2028 and TikTok’s October download momentum, alongside ongoing safety and moderation efforts on the platform.