Zhu Xiaohu’s first AI hardware project has secured additional funding, Gyges Labs is creating the next generation of human-computer interaction interfaces using the “philosophy of subtraction”.
Restraint is harder than accumulation, but the correct business logic often lies in restraint.
As the chief planner of the Internet of Things, I encounter numerous AI hardware entrepreneurs seeking funding every day. Many blindly pursue technological accumulation, neglecting the most fundamental question—what needs does your product actually solve for users?
Recently, a case worth the attention of all AI hardware entrepreneurs has emerged: Zhu Xiaohu’s first AI hardware project, Gyges Labs, successfully completed its Pre-A+ round of financing in October this year after securing Pre-A round funding last November.
This company shone at CES 2025, setting a crowdfunding record of nearly $4 million, and the product logic and business strategy behind it are worth in-depth study for every AI hardware entrepreneur.
Restraint: Gyges Labs’ unique product philosophy
While most AI hardware entrepreneurs pursue a “big and complete” feature set, Gyges Labs’ co-founder, Deng Xudong, repeatedly emphasized one word at the sharing session—”restraint”.
This restraint is first reflected in product positioning. “No matter what, we are primarily making a pair of glasses,” Deng Xudong emphasized, Gyges Labs’ core philosophy is “Glass First”, meaning their glasses must be suitable for everyday wear.
Many smart glasses on the market are either too heavy, too conspicuous, or too “smart” to truly integrate into daily life. Wearing glasses that resemble a large screen to a meeting is inappropriate in social situations.
Gyges Labs aims to create a product that can be worn daily without being recognized as smart glasses.
Technological Breakthrough: The World’s Smallest Near-Eye Display System
Gyges Labs’ core self-developed technology is DigiWindow, which Deng Xudong calls “the world’s smallest near-eye display system”.
Due to its small size, Gyges Labs’ engineers have made a revolutionary design—placing the entire display module in the bridge of the glasses, projecting directly into the eyes to create an image on the retina.
This design brings a series of advantages: it eliminates the bulky side arms of traditional smart glasses, making the appearance closely resemble ordinary glasses, with the total weight controlled at 35 grams (about 28 grams without lenses), and extremely low power consumption, achieving true all-day wearability.
Moreover, since there is no light leakage or rainbow pattern interference, people across from the wearer are completely unaware when information is being accessed. Deng Xudong summarizes this as the philosophy of “displaying, but not revealing”.
Function Trade-offs: Using “Subtraction” for “Experience Addition”
Gyges Labs also demonstrates remarkable restraint in selecting AI functions— Halliday does not have a camera.
When faced with the question of whether the lack of vision would limit AI functionality, Deng Xudong candidly admitted that this indeed reduces one dimension of information. However, he believes that adding these features would make the product impractical for daily use.
Visual capture brings three major issues: battery life, appearance, and privacy. If visual information is continuously captured, the glasses would run out of battery in just two hours.
Gyges Labs has made extreme simplifications, retaining only monochrome, information-prompting functions. Deng Xudong believes that, given the current technology and consumer perception, a “big and complete” product may not achieve commercial success.
“Rather than trying to include all features at once, it is better to focus on voice and surrounding sound perception and excel in this area of AI functionality first.”
This “subtraction” has led to the Halliday Glasses being able to focus on achieving “proactive AI”:
– Real-time translation and meeting minutes, with virtually no delay;
– Proactive knowledge overlay: when unfamiliar terms are mentioned in a meeting, AI will display their meanings in front of the user;
– Instant correction: if someone mistakenly says “Japan is a European city”, AI will point out that Japan is in East Asia.
From AI Glasses to the Grand Vision of “Distributed Superhumans”
In response to the question of “how can startups survive with big companies entering the market”, Gyges Labs answers by not competing on a single dimension.
Deng Xudong emphasizes that Gyges Labs is not an “AI glasses company”, but an “AI wearable company”, with the core being “AI + wearables”.
The company’s ultimate goal is to create the next generation of display, interaction, and computing platforms. Deng Xudong believes that this platform may not be a single device, but a distributed system.
Under this concept, Gyges Labs’ layout is clearly visible. Glasses are the first product form, while Gyges Labs’ second product will be a smart ring, planned for release at CES 2026.
The company’s name, Gyges Labs, is derived from a legend in Plato’s “The Republic”—a young man named Gyges finds a ring that makes him invisible when turned.
Deng Xudong explains: “We hope to leverage the symbolism of the ring to create a series of devices that enhance human capabilities, turning everyone into a superhuman.”
Insights for AI Hardware Entrepreneurs: Core Logic of Business Plans from Gyges Labs
After analyzing Gyges Labs’ development path, I would like to share a few pieces of advice for AI hardware entrepreneurs, which are also the core elements we focus on when writing business plans for clients at the Internet of Things:
1. Find precise product positioning
Gyges Labs did not blindly chase a “big and complete” technological accumulation but chose a differentiated path of “Glass First”. Your business plan must clearly express the core positioning of the product and the target user group.
2. Demonstrate clear technological barriers
DigiWindow technology is Gyges Labs’ core competitive advantage. Entrepreneurs need to clearly demonstrate their technological barriers and continuous innovation capabilities in their business plans.
3. Plan a reasonable business path
Gyges Labs’ product roadmap from glasses to rings reflects clear business thinking. Business plans need to showcase phased development goals and implementation paths, rather than empty visions.
4. Build a complementary team
Gyges Labs’ core team includes technical experts from Stanford and industry talents from Apple and Google. Investors place great importance on the complementarity and execution ability of the team, which must be fully reflected in the business plan.
Conclusion
Gyges Labs’ continuous financing proves the capital market’s recognition of the “restraint innovation” concept. In the AI hardware boom, maintaining a clear product mindset and user perspective is more important than blindly pursuing technological leadership.
If you are preparing for funding for an AI hardware project, consider: does your product truly address user pain points? Do you have sufficient technological barriers? Is your business path clear and feasible?
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