A leading Chinese hardware manufacturer is strengthening its control over the supply chain behind Meta’s artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses, even as the U.S. tech giant seeks to align with Washington’s increasingly hawkish stance on Beijing, according to a report by the Financial Times.
Shandong-based Goertek has expanded its influence through a series of acquisitions and partnerships. The company is said to be manufacturing Meta’s forthcoming “Hypernova” smart glasses, expected to be unveiled this week. It has also taken over Shanghai OmniLight, a maker of micro-nano optical devices, and helped finance the takeover of Plessey, a UK-based optics supplier to Meta.
The moves underscore Meta’s continued reliance on Goertek, despite efforts to diversify production outside of China. While Meta has shifted some manufacturing of its Quest virtual reality headsets to Vietnam, Goertek remains one of its key partners there, people familiar with the matter said.
“Goertek is very aggressive. Early on, they spotted the opportunity presented by the metaverse,” one source told the Financial Times. “Meta has no choice but to work with them because they are the most stable and reliable supplier for key components.”
The dependence stands in sharp contrast to Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s more confrontational stance toward China. Although Facebook was banned in China in 2008, Zuckerberg continued lobbying for market access for years before turning to emphasize U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence. He reportedly stressed to former President Donald Trump the need to ensure American dominance in AI technology.
Goertek’s strategies have previously raised concerns inside Meta. In 2022, the company discovered that its Chinese partner was selling cheaper versions of Meta’s VR headsets on domestic e-commerce platforms, prompting internal debate over whether to pursue legal action. Executives ultimately decided against it, according to people familiar with the matter.
Today, Goertek produces Meta’s popular Ray-Ban smart glasses, Quest headsets, and key components, alongside suppliers from Japan and the U.S. Meta has publicly emphasized that it maintains a “robust, diversified supply chain” and continues to explore new opportunities globally. Goertek declined to comment.
Meta has pivoted toward developing lighter wearable devices powered by AI as Zuckerberg positions the company as a leader in artificial intelligence. The Hypernova glasses, first reported by Bloomberg, will feature a built-in lens display capable of overlaying notifications or AI-generated responses directly into a user’s field of view.
The success of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, which sold more than 2 million units between their launch in September 2023 and February 2025, underscores the growing demand for AI-powered wearables—even as geopolitical tensions complicate the tech giant’s supply chain strategy.
