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Investors looking to invest in artificial intelligence need not pour all their money into semiconductor stocks. There’s another way to gain exposure to the emerging technology, according to Piper Sandler: Warby Parker. The investment firm, which has an overweight rating on shares, raised its price target for Warby Parker to $32 from $22. The new target implies 19.2% upside. Analyst Anna Andreeva cited the eyewear company’s plans to roll out AI-enabled glasses. Warby Parker announced in December it will launch AI eye-gear next year, in partnership with Google and Samsung – a move that could boost its customer base and sales, Piper said in a note to clients. WRBY YTD mountain WRBY year to date “While there are a lot of unknowns (exact time frame, ASP or economics of the partnership), as a second mover in this space, WRBY has the advantage of leveraging existing awareness around smart glasses, plus this could be a significant new customer acquisition tool (customer discovers that WRBY provides eye exams and takes insurance, all at compelling value prop),” Andreeva said in the note. Demand for AI glasses is expected to grow over the next decade, rising at a projected compound annual growth rate of nearly 12% between 2025 and 2034, according to Polaris Market Research . But the number of AI glasses on shelves is still miniscule, with Ray-Ban Meta glasses models accounting for much of the market. That leaves plenty of room for Warby Parker and other second movers to enter the AI spectacles market, according to Piper. “Awareness and affinity for AI glasses adoption is much higher now than in ’22,” Andreeva wrote. The firm projects Warby Parker will sell 300,000 AI frames in its first year following their launch, with that number rising to one million units in the second year and two million in the third year. “We think 300K units for Warby in ’26 should be doable given the bulk of the work to build awareness for AI glasses has likely been done by Essilor and Meta, and the product is expected to have more features as compared to the original Ray-Ban Stories,” Andreeva said. Moreover, Warby Parker’s smart glasses could rake in 30% of prescription lens sales in 2026, according to Piper Sandler’s projections, topping the 20% of prescription-linked sales recorded by Ray Band Meta in its maker EssilorLuxottica ‘s third-quarter earnings report. Warby Parker is up more than 8% year to date
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