China’s Leading AR Firm Rayneo Secures Billion-yuan Funding

BEIJING, March 5 (AsianFin)—China’s top consumer-grade AR company Rayneo has completed a new round of billion-yuan financing, which was led by Huatai Zijin and Yanchuang Group, among other institutions.

The funds raised will be used for the research and development, mass production, and market promotion of the next generation of consumer-grade AR glasses. Additionally, the funds will support the development of the AI+AR glasses ecosystem.

This marks Rayneo's third round of funding in the past year. Data from various institutions indicates that Rayneo's consumer-grade AR glasses have held the top spot in the Chinese market for two consecutive years. According to Runto Technology's online monitoring data, Rayneo accounted for an impressive 37.4% market share in 2023.

In the view of Rayneo's founder and CEO Li Hongwei, with the boost from AI, AR glasses will become a mass consumer product by 2025, with global sales exceeding 10 million units in 2026. This year, Rayneo will also put more effort into expanding its presence in overseas markets.

"For Rayneo, the goal is to target the global market. Our plan is to start in China, establish a strong presence, and then gradually expand into overseas markets, becoming the leader in each regional market," said Li.

"Apple Vision Pro has laid a very good foundation for the entire industry, both in terms of hardware and ecosystem. It has become a crucial factor for external recognition of this industry, and we believe that the investment situation in the industry will improve further," Li added.

Guo Chengwei, Vice President of Yanchuang Group, remarked, "With breakthroughs in core technologies and the launch of new products by leading manufacturers in the consumer-grade AR industry, a new wave of innovation in consumer-grade AR products is on the horizon. Rayneo, incubated by TCL Group, and founded by Li Hongwei, a successful serial entrepreneur, has a clear insight of the consumer market. The founding team has rich experience in entrepreneurship, and it holds a significant advantage in display, system, software, content, development ecology, and sales channels. It has great growth potential."

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Since the release of Apple Vision Pro, there has been a wave of "imitators," seeking funding from investors with PowerPoint presentations. Some voices have suggested that Apple Vision Pro's VST route will be the future mainstream. To achieve MR, Apple Vision Pro uses VST technology to capture images of the real world through cameras, creating a fusion effect with the virtual world.

In contrast, current AR glasses use OST technology, allowing users to see the real world directly through the lenses. Both have advantages and disadvantages; VST provides stronger presentation but is more expensive and heavier. OST is more cost-effective, allows users to see the outside world directly, but has a smaller field of view and poorer color reproduction.

Regarding the VST vs. OST debate, after personally experiencing Apple Vision Pro for a period, Li has gained more confidence in OST. “Apple Vision Pro has made significant efforts in perfecting VST, but there are still issues such as distortion, deformation, and blurriness in some scenes, making it less practical,” he said.

According to the latest data from IDC, in the fourth quarter of last year, the scale of the AR market in China surpassed that of VR. AR shipments were 118,000 units, while VR shipments were 110,000 units.

An industry analyst noted, "Based on the current development trend of the AR device industry, combined with the reversal of sales against VR and the improvement of the supply chain, there will be a significant change in financial investment or risk investment in this track this year."

As a "dark horse" in the AR industry, Li also has a similar view and believes that gaining public recognition for this industry is more vital than internal competition. "Few people have experienced the process of starting from scratch and taking a new product category from 1 to 100. What we have to do is believe that we can produce industry-leading products, something that hasn't been seen before."