Meta builds AI paint. It also plans a business subscription called Wearables for Work.
The TL;DR
The leaked Meta memo confirms an AI pendant going into testing next year. The company is also planning “Work Wearables” and expanding AI glasses.
Meta is developing an AI-powered pendant that it plans to begin testing within the next year, according to an internal memo seen by The Information. The device builds on the Limitless acquisition Meta completed by the end of 2025. Limitless makes a pen that users can attach to their shirt or wear as a necklace to record and transcribe conversations.
The memo also outlines plans to expand Meta’s AI glasses program and launch a business subscription called Wearables for Work. The business segment can position Meta Hardware as a productivity tool rather than a consumer innovation. Reality Labs, the hardware division of Meta, lost four billion dollars in Q1 2026 alone.
The hanging AI category has a troubled history. Humane’s AI pin was launched in 2024 to withering reviews and died within a year, while HP acquired the startup’s assets for $116 million. Friend, another AI startup, has spent more than $1 million on subway ads and is struggling to get users. Neither device provided enough utility to justify wearing an extra gadget.
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The Meta method is different in one important way. It already has an active wearables business. Meta has sold more than seven million Ray-Ban smart glasses by 2025 and controls about 82% of the smart glasses market. The pendant can be a secondary feature in an ecosystem that has proven consumer demand, not a stand-alone product bet in a category that doesn’t yet exist.
Limitless raised more than $33 million from investors including Sam Altman and Andreessen Horowitz before Meta acquired it. CEO Dan Siroker said at the time that Meta’s vision for “personal intelligence” with wearables aligned with what Limitless was creating.” The startup stopped selling the devices to new customers after the acquisition but continued to support existing users.
Wearables for Work subscriptions are the most attractive commercial details in the memo. Meta Glasses already integrates with Meta AI for voice queries, real-time translation, and visual recognition. The business class can add meeting transcription, ambient note-taking, CRM integration, and hands-free access to workplace tools. The concept mirrors Microsoft’s Copilot subscription model but is delivered in hardware rather than software.
The wearables market is divided into different segments. The Apple Watch dominates the smartwatch segment but is losing ground to screenless health trackers. Oura has filed for an IPO. Google’s Whoop and Fitbit Air emphasize passive data collection. The Meta pendant will remain in the fourth category: AI surround capture, an always-on recording device that complements the replacement of the phone.
The privacy implications are significant. Ray-Ban’s Meta sunglasses have already faced lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny over how they handle photos taken by their built-in cameras. The pendant that records the conversations raises similar concerns in a more intimate way. The regulatory environment in the EU, where Meta faces ongoing DMA enforcement and GDPR scrutiny, can put pressure on device sales.
Meta’s hardware strategy has now spread to glasses, pendants, a programmed smartwatch codenamed Malibu 2, VR headsets, and a Vision Pro competitor. The company is betting that AI wearables will reverse the accumulated losses of Reality Labs, which have exceeded 60 billion since the industry was founded. The pendant is one part of that bet. Whether it succeeds where Humane and Friend failed depends on whether Meta can make the AI surrounds useful enough that people will wear them, and reliable enough that the people around them will tolerate them.
