Meta acquires Dutch smart glasses company Luxexcel. Meta confirmed the acquisition to TechCrunch, saying, “the addition of the Luxexcel team to Meta deepens the existing partnership between the two companies.”

The two companies are rumoured to work together on Meta’s Project Aria, a prototype device “worn like regular glasses” that Meta will use to build software and hardware for future augmented reality (AR) devices.

Luxexcel is best known for 3D printing prescription glasses but has recently ventured into smart-glass lenses, which can be printed using integrated technologies like LCDs and holographic films.

This is not Meta’s first foray into the AR smart wearable market. In 2021, it will cooperate with Essilor Luxottica to launch Ray Ban Stories, the Ray Ban brand smart glasses. The glasses allow users to listen to music, take pictures, make phone calls and share short videos to Facebook using a companion app.

With the addition of Luxexcel, Meta will leverage its experience in manufacturing prescription glasses for AR glasses.

More recently, Meta agreed to delay its acquisition of Within Unlimited, maker of the popular fitness app Supernatural, after the FTC filed a lawsuit against Meta to halt the acquisition. The FTC called Meta a “global tech giant” and said the acquisition would harm competition in the VR fitness market.