Alibaba unveiled its first AI Smart Glasses, called the Quark AI. These glasses will be based on the company's own Qweb AI platform, and will feature a voice assistant, full voice control, a front camera and a QR payment system.
The Quark AI will have two models: the basic one without a display, and a display powered one, that will feature a monochrome green microLED display. It is likely to be based on JBD's microdisplays (Alibaba is one of JBD's investors). Alibaba says that it will launch the Quark AI Glasses by the end of 2025.
JBD is the first (and still the only) company that has been mass producing microLED microdisplays. The company reported several design wins, including with Xiaomi, TCL, Vuzix and likely Meta for its Orion glasses. In 2023, JBD started shipping engineering samples of single-panel RGB microLED microdisplays, branding these as the Phoenix series, while its monochrome panels are now branded as Hummingbird. The Phoenix series is designed to be used with 50+ degree FOV waveguides.
In 2023, JBD raised its A4 strategic financing round and together with its previous A3 round, the company raised "hundreds of millions of Yuan" (which could mean anything from $30 million USD to $130 million). JBD's investors include Alibaba, Samsung, BYD and Geely. BYD is said to be working with JBD to develop MicroLED automotive applications. JBD is building a $92 million production line in Hefei that has entered production but hasn't yet reached full capacity. The production line's total capacity is 120 million 0.13" panels, at full capacity.
