Chinese AI glasses maker NIMO raises several hundred million yuan angel round at RMB 1.5B valuation
Chinese outlet The Capital first reported the angel round on October 8, and TechNode picked it up on October 10. It values the company behind the NIMO brand at RMB 1.5B post-money, about $211M. The amount was not disclosed beyond several hundred million yuan. Gobi Partners is the only named investor, and other Chinese venture firms took part. NIMO makes smart glasses for daily wear and already sells through offline retail channels in China. The company will spend the money on new products and core technology, more domestic stores and a move into overseas markets. Chinese AI eyewear is a crowded field, and Meta's Ray-Ban line sets the pace globally. For AI builders, a nine-figure valuation at the angel stage shows how much capital Chinese investors are putting into AI wearables. A larger base of low-cost glasses also gives developers more hardware to target with voice and vision assistants, especially for translation, navigation and capture use cases.