Mentra Live is GA: open-source smart glasses platform and SDKs
He says thousands of units have shipped and hundreds of companies are deploying, with SDKs live at MentraGlass.com and international expansion targeted later this year.
By Ryan Merket · · updated
Why it matters
Open-source, deployable smart glasses aimed at on-the-job workflows could give AI agents and ops tools a path off the laptop and into the field. If Mentra’s traction claims hold, there is early developer and enterprise demand for a hardware-plus-SDK stack that works with non-display frames and plugs into existing display glasses when needed.
Cayden (@caydengineer) said in a thread on X that Mentra Live, an open-source smart glasses platform for real-world work, is now generally available. He added that the team has shipped thousands of units and that hundreds of companies are already deploying the system, inviting developers to build with the open-source Mentra Cloud SDK and Mentra Bluetooth SDK via MentraGlass.com.
Positioned to let apps and AI agents leave the screen and operate on the job site or shop floor, the hardware does not include a display, according to Cayden's replies in the same thread. For customers who want visual output, MentraOS supports third-party display glasses, including Even Realities, Vuzix Z100, NIMO, and others.
Cayden is fielding B2B inquiries via support@mentraglass.com and says the company aims to expand internationally later this year, per additional replies. The pitch is direct: 'Build apps that leave the screen. Let your AI step into the real world,' Cayden wrote on X.
Who they are and why they are building: Mentra's founders argue smart glasses are the next personal computer and will become the primary interface to AI. They say the form factor can help deaf people hear, help blind people navigate, and augment cognition for everyone. The company frames the operating system as the missing piece for wearable AI and is building MentraOS to keep control in users' hands while maximizing freedom for users, developers, and OEMs through open-source technology.
Mentra traces its roots to 2018, when Cayden built his first smart glasses in a university dorm while co-founder Israelov was independently experimenting with smart glasses technology. The pair connected on Reddit in 2022, teamed up, and within a year demoed the OpenSourceSmartGlasses project at CES 2023. That experience led to the realization that, just as with phones, smart glasses need their own operating system. In 2024, Mentra was formed around that idea: Cayden dropped out of MIT, Israelov left his job, and founding engineer Nicolo left Tsinghua. The team went through YC and raised a seed round from Amazon, Toyota Ventures, and others.
Today the company spans San Francisco and Shenzhen, with team experience across Google, Calvin Klein, VSP, Microsoft, and Nike. Mentra says it will keep an open-source, hacker-first approach as it builds out MentraOS and the Mentra Live platform.