422In recent years, the deep integration of AI and AR technologies has injected strong momentum into the AR industry, putting it in a phase of rapid development.
AI endows AR devices with more intelligent environmental perception capabilities, enabling them to accurately understand their surroundings; while AR presents this information to users in an intuitive and vivid way.
This technological synergy has propelled AR glasses from the professional level to the mass consumer market, and has continuously expanded their application scenarios, gradually covering multiple fields such as entertainment, education, and office work.
According to data from Market.us, the global market size of AR and VR smart glasses is expected to grow from $17.64 billion in 2024 to $69.5 billion in 2034. From 2025 to 2034, the average annual compound growth rate will reach 14.70%.
Image source: Market.us
Against this backdrop, a domestic brand focused on the R&D and manufacturing of consumer-grade AR glasses saw a business opportunity. Using AR glasses as an entry point, it successively entered multiple overseas markets including the United States, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, and successfully stood out.
This brand isXREAL.
Reportedly, the brand ranked first in global AR glasses sales for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024, with market shares of 45% and 51.7% respectively.
During last year's "Black Friday & Cyber Monday", it also won both the sales volume and sales revenue championship in the AR glasses category across all Amazon sites, and has topped Amazon's AR glasses category sales and revenue rankings for three consecutive years.
To date, its cumulative financing amount has exceeded 2.1 billion RMB, with investors including Alibaba, Kuaishou, iQIYI, Sequoia China, NIO Capital, Gentle Monster, and many other well-known companies.
Image source: XREAL
Entrepreneurial Choices Under a Technological Background
According to reports, the founder of the XREAL brand, Mr. Xu, graduated from Zhejiang University’s Chu Kochen Honors College, then went to the United States for further study, and obtained his PhD from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.
His first job after graduation was at NVIDIA, the world's most valuable company, as a GPU architecture engineer.
Afterwards, he joined Magic Leap, a star company in the American AR field. This was his last job in Silicon Valley, and it was this experience that made Mr. Xu deeply aware of the huge potential of the AR industry, firmly believing that AR is a track with great prospects for the future.
Based on his deep insights into the industry and optimism about its prospects, Mr. Xu resolutely quit his high-paying job in Silicon Valley and decided to return to China to start a business, challenging the highly competitive AR segment.
Image source: XREAL
At the beginning of 2017, after half a year of industry research, Mr. Xu teamed up with his classmate Mr. Xiao and junior Mr. Wu from Zhejiang University to form a startup team and officially founded the XREAL brand.
After years of development, XREAL's products can now meet the needs of various application scenarios.
In entertainment scenarios, XREAL's AR glasses can provide immersive experiences such as giant screen viewing and multi-screen interaction; in educational scenarios, they can assist teaching and offer students more intuitive and vivid learning methods; in office scenarios, they help improve work efficiency and support functions such as virtual meetings and file presentations.
It is precisely these innovative applications in specific scenarios that have attracted consumer attention and favor, gradually making XREAL a leading brand in the industry.
Image source: XREAL
Mastering Social Media Marketing: TikTok and YouTube Join Forces
In overseas markets, social media is a key channel for brands to reach users. The XREAL brand has launched marketing campaigns on both TikTok and YouTube platforms.
TikTok:
On TikTok, XREAL attaches great importance to influencer marketing, collaborating with several vertical influencers to release creative promotional short videos. The video content is rich and diverse, covering product unboxing, usage tutorials, and feature introductions, integrating the product into daily usage scenarios to attract potential users' attention.
TikTok tech influencer @imparkerburton, who has 3.1 million followers, shot a creative short video for the XREAL brand.
Image source: TikTok
In the video, the influencer first showcases the appearance and structure of XREAL's AR glasses, giving viewers an intuitive understanding of their design.
Next, he takes out the matching data cable, skillfully plugs one end into the AR glasses and the other into his phone. By watching video content from his phone through the AR glasses, he demonstrates the product's convenience and practicality to the audience.
So far, this creative short video has exceeded one million views and received 31,300 likes. Many users commented after watching: "This feature is crazy." "This is awesome!!"
Image source: TikTok
YouTube:
On YouTube, XREAL prefers to cooperate with professional tech bloggers, building product credibility through in-depth reviews.
The Tech Chap, a tech blogger with 1.56 million subscribers, is one of the collaborators. He filmed a detailed hands-on review video for the XREAL One AR glasses, which has reached 160,000 views so far.
In the review video, The Tech Chap connects the XREAL One to his phone, computer, and game console in turn, and evaluates the usage effects of different devices in detail.
The review covers important indicators such as image clarity, color reproduction, and wearing comfort, giving users a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the product's performance and experience.
Image source: YouTube
Many users were "influenced to buy" after watching the video and expressed their love for AR glasses in the comments section:
"I love your video, it's really useful, whether for work or just passing time in the room. If you travel often, you can have a complete digital office environment with it!"
"AR will have a significant impact on our lives."
"I bought XREAL's AR glasses, they're amazing. People who haven't used them can't imagine how good they are."
"I'm planning to buy XREAL 2 Ultra, glad to see your review video."
Image source: YouTube
Channel Strategy: E-commerce Platforms + Independent Sites in Parallel
XREAL's overseas expansion does not rely solely on social media, but also reaches global users through diversified sales channels.
Third-party E-commerce Platforms: Rapid Market Entry
XREAL has official stores on mainstream e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay, leveraging the platforms' traffic advantages to quickly acquire users, and using their logistics and payment systems to lower the threshold for going global.
Image source: Amazon
Independent Site: Data-driven Refined Operations
In addition to joining third-party e-commerce platforms, XREAL has also established its own overseas independent site.
Through its independent site, XREAL can fully grasp user data, covering multi-dimensional information such as consumer shopping behavior and browsing preferences, thereby making more targeted decisions in social media marketing, product development, and service improvement, helping the brand to develop steadily.
Image source: XREAL
Inspiration for Chinese Brands Going Global: Find the Right Track, Use the Right Methods
XREAL's path to going global is not impossible to replicate. Its success proves a logic: in technology-driven niche fields, Chinese brands have every opportunity to win overseas markets with product strength and operational strategies.
For Chinese companies still considering overseas opportunities, the global AR/VR market is still in a period of rapid growth, with many unmet niche demands. Now is a key window for actively deploying in the global market.
We believe XREAL's success is just the beginning, and in the near future, we expect to see more Chinese tech brands shine on the global stage!
