Smart Glasses Operating System Developer Mentra Raises $8 Million

Led by Cayden Pierce(CEO/CTO/Founder), Alexander Israelov(Head of Software/Founder), Nicolo Micheletti(Founding Engineer, Head of Apps), Isaiah Ballah(Founding Engineer, Head of Cloud), Thomas Tee(Head of Hardware), Roger Pincombe(Head of Developer Experience), Carl Allen(Head of Eyewear Design), Celine Yixiaqian(Head of China Logistics), Tomas Vega(Advisor, Wearables/Micro-electronics/HCI/Startups), Nils Pihl(Advisor, Spatial Computing/Memetics/Startups), Stephen Wolfram(Advisor, AI/Personal Intelligence), and Terry Huhtala(Advisor, Strategy/Finance/GTM), Mentra has raised $8 Million Rich Miner (co-founder of Android), Jawed Karim (co-founder of YouTube), Eric Migicovsky (Pebble), Paul Graham, Y Combinator, and the venture arms of Toyota and Amazon to develop what they call as the Android for Smart Glasses.

Mentra aims to be the default software layer for lightweight XR glasses—an “Android for smart glasses” built for real-time AI and continuous wear. Unlike vertically integrated platforms, Mentra champions openness and modularity, with an SDK and app store that support cross-device apps and simultaneous, context-aware experiences.

MentraOS now runs on devices from Even Realities, Vuzix, and Mentra’s own hardware. This fall, Mentra will launch Mentra Live—a $249 modular smart glasses kit for developers and enterprise use. It features a camera, mic, speaker, and full SDK support. Caption-enabled display glasses are set for early 2026, priced between $339–$599.