South Korean startup LetinAR is positioning itself as a key supplier of optical technology for the AI smart glasses boom, having just closed an $18.5 million funding round led by Korea Development Bank and Lotte Ventures. The company, backed by LG Electronics, plans to go public in South Korea in 2027. Founded in 2016 by CEO Jaehyeok Kim and CTO Jeonghun Ha—friends since high school—LetinAR specializes in optical modules, the tiny lens components that project images into a wearer's field of vision. Their technology is designed to be lightweight, thin, and power-efficient while delivering clear images, fitting inside regular-looking eyewear frames.
The timing could hardly be better. Global AI glasses shipments reached 8.7 million units in 2025, surging more than 300% from the prior year, and industry analysts at Omdia project that figure will exceed 15 million this year. Major tech companies are racing to capture this market: Meta has been selling AI-enabled Ray-Ban glasses since 2023, Google is developing Android XR, Apple is expected to enter the category soon, and Samsung reportedly plans to unveil AI-capable smart glasses co-designed with fashion brand Gentle Monster at a Galaxy Unpacked event in London this July. Chinese firms including Huawei, Alibaba, and Xiaomi are also pushing into the space.
What's driving the momentum isn't just consumer interest—it's real-world applications. LetinAR points to a motorcycle scenario as an example of where the technology is heading: a rider traveling at 160 kilometers per hour sees navigation arrows floating on the road ahead, projected directly onto their visor through a lens no bigger than a thumbnail. The company says this isn't a concept demonstration but an actual product heading to European roads by year's end. LG Electronics, which previously invested in LetinAR, is now developing its own AI smart glasses—a signal, observers say, of how seriously South Korea's largest consumer electronics company views the category.
LetinAR's business model centers on supplying optical modules to glasses manufacturers rather than building its own devices. The company argues that the optical component is what separates science-fiction-looking headsets from eyewear people would actually wear daily. As the smart glasses market matures, the company is betting that its decade of specialization in display optics will make it an indispensable link in the supply chain for Meta,