EssilorLuxottica Acquires XR Startup Lynx After Liquidation, Leaving R2 Launch Unlikely

French XR startup Lynx has found a buyer in EssilorLuxottica, but the future of its hardware remains uncertain. Lynx founder and CEO Stan Larroque confirmed in July that EssilorLuxottica acquired the company, including its intellectual property, assets, and most of its team. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The purchase follows Lynx entering compulsory liquidation in March, a process that forced the company to shut down. The liquidation meant its planned R2 headset would not launch under the original company structure. EssilorLuxottica, a French-Italian enterprise known as the largest eyewear company globally, owns brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley, and manages retail stores worldwide. Meta holds a three percent stake in EssilorLuxottica, partnering with the firm on smart glasses.

Announced earlier in the year, the Lynx-R2 was scheduled to feature the XR2 Gen 2 chipset, alongside displays and sensors similar to competitors like the Quest 3 and Pico 4 Ultra. It also utilized aspheric pancake lenses developed with Israeli startup Hypervision. These components aimed to deliver a horizontal field of view of 126 degrees and a vertical field of view of 103 degrees, positioning it as a wide field of view standalone headset.

Larroque is not joining EssilorLuxottica, choosing instead to take on a leadership role at French drone manufacturer Parrot. In an email to backers, Larroque noted that smoothing out operations could take a few months while pending legal approvals. Whether EssilorLuxottica chooses to revive the R2 headset or solely leverage the acquired intellectual property and team expertise remains to be seen, though industry observers consider a commercial launch unlikely.