Thunderbird "marries" Alibaba to aggressively attack AI glasses

Author | Huang Yu

Editor | Liu Baodan

2024 is the inaugural year of "AI + terminals," and AI glasses, regarded as one of the best carriers for AI, are rising rapidly; with more players entering the market, AI glasses are expected to reach a breakthrough moment in 2025.

As the "Battle of the Glasses" approaches, on January 2, the first working day of 2025, as a leading AR company in China, Thunderbird Innovation dropped a heavy bombshell in the AI glasses industry by announcing a strategic cooperation with Alibaba Cloud. The Tongyi series large models from Alibaba Cloud will provide exclusive customized full sets of AI technology and product support for Thunderbird Innovation's AI glasses.

This is the first deep customization cooperation between a large model and an AI glasses hardware manufacturer in China, and it is also Alibaba Cloud's first strategic-level cooperation in the AI glasses field.

It is reported that, based on the scenarios and hardware characteristics of Thunderbird's AI glasses, Alibaba Cloud designed an overall multimodal interaction architecture based on the Tongyi series large model foundation, customizing the development of a "cloud + terminal" model to help the product achieve high responsiveness, low latency, and high-quality multimodal AI interaction experience.

At the same time, both parties will also carry out functional customization and development around the actual usage scenarios of the glasses products and continue to iterate and update on Thunderbird's AI glasses products.

Li Hongwei, founder and CEO of Thunderbird Innovation, stated: "AR glasses are the best carrier for AI, and the cooperation between Thunderbird and Alibaba Cloud is just the starting point for both parties. With the upcoming launch of products like V3 and X3 Pro during CES, users will personally experience the revolutionary changes brought by AI glasses."

Li Hongwei revealed that the cooperation between Thunderbird Innovation and Alibaba will regard exploring Killer APPs as the most important task, while the terminal-side large model will rank second or third.

Currently, there are many large model manufacturers in China; why did Thunderbird Innovation choose to cooperate with Alibaba?

In this regard, Li Hongwei explained that it is a two-way choice. From Thunderbird Innovation's perspective, choosing Alibaba is because Alibaba is willing to make a genuine user-oriented deep investment in AI + AR glasses, rather than just placing a general large model on the glasses. Additionally, Thunderbird Innovation is optimistic about Alibaba's current and future continuous leadership position in large models.

AI large models will trigger a terminal revolution, and among many terminal devices, AI glasses are one of the best landing carriers for AI large models.

iResearch Consulting pointed out that AI smart interactive glasses have become a portable pioneering product that can seamlessly interact with AI technology anytime and anywhere, and it is also an important link in the progressive development path of AR technology.

Therefore, for Thunderbird Innovation, exploring AI glasses is a battle that cannot be lost, as it not only determines whether it can further promote AR glasses into consumers' daily lives but also positions it as one of the leaders in terminal devices in the AI era The AI glasses market has enormous potential. According to a research report by Zhongtai Securities, the current development stage of the AI smart glasses sector can be compared to that of smartwatches in 2014, with significant growth expected in the future.

Analysts from Shenwan Hongyuan believe that AI glasses integrate the functions of headphones, cameras, and glasses, and are equipped with AI interaction. Although they are still in the early stages of development, as products continue to iterate, becoming lighter and cheaper, the long-term market space can be compared to that of glasses and even smartphones.

Additionally, WellsennXR predicts that starting in 2025, against the backdrop of stable growth in traditional eyewear sales, AI smart glasses will rapidly penetrate the market. By 2029, annual sales of AI smart glasses are expected to reach 55 million pairs.

This means that 2025 could be a crucial time node for the ramp-up of AI glasses products.

In the face of such a blue ocean, since the second half of last year, the enthusiasm for AI glasses has continued to rise, with major manufacturers gearing up for a significant push.

Currently, players in the domestic AI glasses sector can be mainly divided into three categories: first, AR glasses manufacturers, such as Thunderbird Innovation, Li Weike Technology, and Rokid; second, smartphone manufacturers, such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Meizu, and OPPO; and third, major internet companies, such as Baidu and ByteDance.

Analysts from Shenwan Hongyuan point out that in the context of weak demand for traditional consumer electronics like smartphones, with shipment volumes gradually stabilizing, various terminal manufacturers are actively seeking new growth points, and AI glasses are an excellent choice for consumer electronics and technology companies.

The entry of major manufacturers may drive AI glasses to break through quickly, but the "battle of a hundred glasses" will also lead to intense industry competition. How to stand out among numerous products will be a test for all major manufacturers