Conant Optics Subsidiary Renamed, Sharpening Focus on Smart Glasses

On September 12, Conant Optics held an unveiling and ribbon-cutting ceremony at its Qidong production base in Jiangsu. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, formerly Jiangsu Lantu Eyewear Co., Ltd., was officially renamed Jiangsu Conant Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., completing the business registration change and an upgrade of its business positioning at the same time. Going forward, it will focus fully on the new smart glasses business.

This is not a simple renaming. Prior to this, the company had completed the acquisition of the remaining 51% stake in the former Jiangsu Lantu, gaining full ownership. Its business scope was expanded to include the manufacture of wearable smart devices, the manufacture of virtual reality devices, and optical technology R&D, among other segments.

Transforming a traditional lens production base with massive annual capacity into a platform dedicated to smart glasses is a move whose significance can only be seen clearly within the context of the industry's explosive growth.

The industry has reached an inflection point. 2026 is widely regarded as the key year in which AI glasses move from proof of concept to accelerated mass adoption. IDC data show that global smart glasses shipments reached 3.566 million units in the first quarter of 2026, up 130.1% year on year.

Policy is also sending clear signals. The 2026 national subsidy program includes smart glasses for the first time, making them one of four subsidized categories alongside phones, tablets and smartwatches. The surge in the end market has directly driven demand for upstream core optical components, and optical lenses are precisely one of the segments with the highest technical barriers and the tightest supply in the current supply chain.

Conant has demonstrated the value of this track with its financials. In the first half of 2026, the company's XR business revenue was about 50.5 million yuan, up 1475.3% year on year and 89% quarter on quarter. In addition, the company has carried out more than 40 cooperation projects with about 20 leading smart glasses makers at home and abroad, signed long-term R&D or procurement framework agreements with leading customers, and achieved exclusive supply arrangements with two domestic customers.

In July, the company further disclosed that it had signed joint development or procurement framework agreements with four leading international and domestic technology companies and consumer electronics giants, and was designated as the core lens supplier for their flagship smart glasses products.

Capacity expansion is the central focus of this unveiling. Under the company's plans, the total supporting plant area for the new smart glasses business is expected to be no less than 100,000 square meters, aimed at building a high-end precision manufacturing system for XR lenses integrating R&D, pilot production and mass production.

The Jiangsu base has begun plant renovation and upgrades to its Phase II and Phase III XR production lines, while the Shanghai plant is adding four new lens bonding and complete-unit packaging lines. The company plans to build by 2028 a dedicated capacity system with annual output of 3 million to 5 million pairs of high-precision AR glasses lenses, covering full-chain manufacturing capabilities including high-refractive-index ultra-thin prescription lenses, lens bonding and complete-unit packaging.

Conant's confidence to expand capacity on a large scale stems from 30 years of accumulated optical manufacturing expertise. As the world's second-largest resin lens maker by mass production volume, the company's process know-how in precision molds, freeform surface processing and complex injection molding forms a natural barrier.

On supply-chain collaboration, Conant has deepened upstream and downstream coordination through strategic investments in Rokid and the establishment of a joint venture with Goertek Optics, among other moves. The joint venture with Goertek Optics focuses on the R&D and production of custom lenses dedicated to smart glasses, waveguide eyepieces, and electrochromic and eye-tracking optoelectronic components.

From "selling lenses" to "selling solutions," and from traditional optical manufacturing to a precision optical platform company, Conant Optics' strategic upgrade path is now clear. As overseas flagship projects ramp up to mass production and new products for major domestic customers enter supply in the second half, the XR business is accelerating from a second growth curve into a core engine.

The upgrade of the Jiangsu base is not only a strategic move to expand capacity, but also a key step for the company to consolidate its first-mover advantage in the smart glasses supply chain.