Superhexa’s Hardware-First Bet: Why China’s AI Glasses Race Might Be Backwards
A Beijing startup argues that the future of AI wearables begins with craftsmanship, not algorithms—and that China’s hardware race has its priorities reversed.
China is in a full-blown rush to build the “next big thing” in AI hardware. More than a hundred companies—from Shenzhen gadget shops to billion-dollar manufacturers—are racing to launch AI glasses, AI pins, and every imaginable hands-free form factor.
Inside this frenzy, Beijing-based Superhexa is moving in the opposite direction. Instead of starting with AI models, the company spent years building… glasses.
Not smart glasses. Just good glasses: comfortable, lightweight, wearable for 12 hours, and discreet enough that people actually want to be seen in them. Only after perfecting the fundamentals did Superhexa bring AI into the equation.
In a Mandarin-language conversation with Asia Tech Lens, Co-Founder and CMO Guo Jun explains why most AI glasses fail, how years inside Xiaomi shaped a ruthlessly practical philosophy, and why competing in China’s hardware market requires a mix of restraint, obsession, and stubborn patience.
A Different Kind of AI Hardware Company
Superhexa positions itself simply: an AI hardware company obsessed with basics.
Before writing a single AI feature, the team focused on the fundamentals of wearability—fit, comfort, materials, hinge structure, and acoustics. They spent years refining the mechanical design and tuning the sound experience until the glasses felt natural enough for all-day use.
“Everyone starts with AI,” Guo says. “We started with the glasses.”
It’s what he calls the “subtraction strategy.” Strip anything unnecessary. Cut features that drain power. Reduce cognitive load, not add to it. Prioritize comfort, battery life, reliability.
The result: 11–12 hours of continuous battery life.
Born Inside the Xiaomi Ecosystem
Superhexa’s culture is inseparable from Xiaomi’s. Guo spent nearly a decade inside a corporate machine shaped by brutal user-feedback loops, cost discipline, and the ability to ship at speed without sacrificing polish.
His years working within Xiaomi’s ecosystem shaped how he thinks about hardware, supply chains, and product discipline—experience he carried into Superhexa. But as an independent startup, Superhexa had no safety net.
Guo describes the tension clearly: the giants that shaped your instincts can just as easily become your competitors. In that kind of environment, you have to build a real moat.
For Superhexa, that moat isn’t AI models. It’s hardware engineering, supply-chain mastery, and day-long wearability.
When AI Comes Second
Once the physical device was right, Superhexa began integrating AI—using both in-house models and external ones, including large-language models like ChatGPT. But Guo insists the sequence matters.
AI follows user behaviour, not the other way around.
In practice, that means:
audio-first interactions
multimodal input that feels natural
fewer notifications, not more
features that solve problems, not demonstrate capabilities
Guo argues that many AI glasses chase visual HUDs or ambitious overlays long before the hardware is ready. “Audio is faster and less intrusive,” he says.
The goal is a device that disappears into daily life—but extends cognition when needed.
The Survival Game: ODM Work vs. Building a Brand
China’s hardware market is unforgiving. Components are cheap, talent is expensive. Speed is essential, margins are thin. And a competitor can copy your prototype before you’ve placed your first production order.
Like many hardware startups, Superhexa wrestled with a familiar dilemma: take ODM/white-label contracts to pay salaries, or focus entirely on its own brand.
ODM work pays the bills. But it can consume a company.
Guo is unusually candid. At one point, Superhexa debated whether staying independent even made sense. There were real-name votes on existential decisions. The team almost split.
“We regretted the money,” he says. “But not the experience.”
The company ultimately doubled down on its own consumer product—betting that wearable AI will be a long game, not another hype-cycle gadget.
China’s Hyper-Competitive Electronics Market
Guo describes a battleground that outsiders rarely see:
startups competing with giants that control their entire supply chain
talent that rotates fast and spreads ideas even faster
a “launch now, refine later” culture that punishes slow builders
consumers who expect excellence at impossible prices
Against this backdrop, Superhexa’s slower, hardware-first approach feels almost contrarian.
Guo argues this is exactly why it works. Without strong fundamentals, hardware quickly becomes a commodity—and AI alone can’t change that.
What Superhexa Represents
Superhexa is not simply building a gadget. It represents a countercurrent inside China’s hardware industry: a belief that thoughtful design still matters even in an AI-first era.
Its bet is straightforward:
If the device is genuinely wearable—comfortable, reliable, nearly invisible—AI becomes meaningful instead of gimmicky.
It’s a risky strategy in a market built on shortcuts and speed. But if Superhexa is right, China’s AI hardware future may look less like a miniature screen strapped to your face, and more like a pair of glasses you forget you’re wearing.
Referenced in this interview
Companies & Brands:
Superhexa · Jiehuan · Xiaomi · OPPO · Vivo · Huawei · Luxshare Precision · Zeiss · Thunderbird Innovation (RayNeo) · Ray-Ban Meta
Products & Categories:
AI glasses · audio glasses · VR/AR glasses · TWS earbuds · AI wearables · Apple Vision Pro
AI Models & Platforms:
Xiao Ai · ChatGPT · domestic Chinese LLMs
Crowdfunding Platforms:
Kickstarter · Indiegogo
Content & Social Platforms:
Bilibili · Douyin · Xiaohongshu
Investors Mentioned:
ZhenFund · Yunqi Partners · Qiming · CCV · Chuangshi Partners
Watch the full interview
The original conversation was recorded in Mandarin, with English subtitles available.
Watch the full interview with Superhexa Co-Founder Guo Jun →