Glasses Replace the iPhone
Richardson Dackam@richardsondx
−6.4%
since Oct 1
The idea
I believe smart glasses and a neural wristband become the next computing platform, doing to the phone what the phone did to the flip phone. Meta anchors the basket, but a platform shift pays the whole supply chain, so I also own the low-power chips, waveguide glass, microdisplays, and sensors that any winning pair of glasses will need. It's spread across 18 positions in five layers with large-cap weight in silicon and compute, plus a 10% cash reserve to add on dips, since this is a years-long bet rather than a quarterly one.
What it owns
- Smart glasses need tiny, power-efficient processors and memory to run on a battery worn on the face, and every design win in glasses volumes multiplies the demand for these chips. · QualcommIts Snapdragon AR chips already power Meta's glasses, so every pair sold is a chip sold to the supply chain., Taiwan SemiconductorIt manufactures the chips inside nearly every major glasses design, the same role it plays fabricating iPhone processors, giving it exposure to whichever platform wins., BroadcomIt supplies the wireless and custom silicon that glasses need to stay connected and run AI, while also winning from data-center chip demand on the AI side., Micron TechnologyA computer on the face needs low-power memory to run on a small battery, so glasses volumes at iPhone scale multiply demand for its specialty memory chips., Cirrus LogicWithout a screen, glasses rely on voice and audio as the primary interface, and it makes the audio and voice chips that do that work.25%
- The take bets that glasses replace the smartphone as the main computer people carry, with multiple platform winners shipping hardware and software at scale. · Meta PlatformsIt ships the glasses and neural wristband designed to replace the iPhone as the main computer people carry, making it the core bet in this take., AlphabetIts Android XR platform and hardware stack represent the most credible second bet on glasses as a platform shift away from phones.23%
- Putting a bright, sharp image on a lens through waveguides and microOLED screens is the core technical challenge in AR, making the optics and display makers the bottleneck to volume. · CorningIt makes the precision glass waveguides that pipe images to the eye in AR glasses, playing the same role Gorilla Glass played in the iPhone era., Sony GroupIts microOLED displays are the standard bright screens inside AR glasses from all major makers, so it collects revenue per device shipped., Himax TechnologiesIt makes the driver chips and microdisplay technology that push images into AR waveguides, with outsized upside as a smaller company if glasses volumes scale., Universal DisplayIt collects royalties on the OLED materials inside every microOLED display in glasses, earning a cut per device without needing a single design win., CoherentIt makes the lasers and precision optics that AR displays and depth sensors depend on, so glasses volume drives demand for its components., LumentumIts photonics and laser components let glasses see the room and track hands for 3D sensing, a core input for AR glasses to work as a platform.21%
- Glasses without screens rely on AI assistants that run on data-center training and inference chips, so demand for model training and on-device intelligence drives chip sales. · NVIDIAAI models that power glasses assistants train and run on its data-center chips, so growth in AI video and world-model demand drives its usage., Arm HoldingsNearly every low-power chip inside glasses uses its processor designs, so it collects royalties on every device shipped regardless of which chipmaker wins the socket.11%
- Glasses and a wristband controller read the world and the wearer's intent through motion sensors, touch chips, and signal processors that convert real-world input into digital commands. · STMicroelectronicsIts motion sensors tell glasses where the wearer is looking, a core input for the wristband and headset to work together., SynapticsIt sells the touch, wireless, and connection chips that glasses and wristband controllers need to work, with significant upside if real glasses wins prove out., Analog DevicesIt makes the analog signal processors that turn muscle and environmental signals into digital data for glasses and wearable controllers to act on.10%
- Other · ESLOY3%
- Cash7%