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Intel to shut down wearables team behind promising Vaunt smart glasses
July 03, 2025
Intelhas confirmed that it’s closing the division responsible for its innovativeVaunt smart glasses. Sources “familiar with the situation” toldThe Informationthat employees unable to find positions in other Intel divisions will be laid off.
Back in February,Bloombergreported that Intel was seeking outside investment for the business unit, valuing the division at $350 million.The Informationsuggests that a lack of outside investment is to blame for the closure.
Intel later confirmed the news, telling the publication that they are “continuously working on new technologies and experiences,” but that “not all of these develop into a product we choose to take to market.”
The chipmaker alluded to the reason for the shutdown, saying that its “disciplined approach” to exploring new technologies will sometimes require “tough choices when market dynamics don’t support further investment.”
The Vauntsmart glasseswere rather unique, looking almost exactly like your everyday pair of spectacles rather than, you know… smart glasses.Google GlassandSnapchat’s shades, by comparison, were clearly unconventional spectacles would always be likely to draw attention to the wearer.
To achieve the sleeker, more natural look, Intel’s team opted to forego cameras on the device, emphasising the delivery of contextual information instead. Info was beamed to the user’s eye via a red monochrome projector near the lenses (sounds a bit like a high-techVirtual Boy, doesn’t it?). The Vaunt smart glasses would also have allowed users to shake their head to dismiss notifications and other nuggets of information.
At the time ofits reveal, the Vaunt team said you’d be able to receive information such as restaurant ratings, the location of your parked car, and cooking recipe steps while wearing its smart specs. One major challenge that may have put potential investors off is the fact that each pair would have had to have been specially fitted for each user. That would’ve meant no waltzing into a store to buy and use them right away.
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