AI meets AR: How Rokid Glasses bring multilingual, real-time intelligence to smart eyewear globally
Updated
March 3, 2026 3:50 PM

Rokid's smart glasses. PHOTO: ROKID
Rokid, a Chinese company specializing in AI-powered smart eyewear and human–computer interaction, has rolled out a major software update for the international version of its Rokid Glasses. This update makes it the first smart glasses manufacturer to natively support Google’s Gemini, alongside three other leading large language models: OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek.
The integration is powered by Rokid’s device-to-cloud architecture, which enables users to switch between AI models on the fly. In practice, this means a traveler can receive a real-time translation in Japanese using one AI model, then quickly switch to ChatGPT to answer a technical query—without noticeable delay. The system also supports multi-modal inputs like voice and gestures, making interactions more intuitive for everyday use.
This is more than a routine software update. By combining AI models from both U.S. and Chinese developers, Rokid is making its smart glasses relevant to global users, with features that adapt to local languages and preferences while maintaining high performance.
These technological advancements have directly fueled Rokid’s international growth. Between November 2024 and October 2025, Shangpu Group data shows Rokid Glasses ranked No.1 in global sales for AI glasses with display functionality. Crowdfunding milestones further reflect this momentum: the product became the fastest smart glasses to raise over 100 million Japanese Yen on Japan’s MAKUAKE platform and broke Kickstarter records for smart eyewear.
Taken together, Rokid’s update highlights a shift in the smart glasses space: success increasingly comes from openness, flexibility and localized AI experiences rather than closed, single-platform ecosystems. By giving users choice, integrating global AI capabilities and bridging cultural and linguistic gaps, Rokid is positioning itself as a serious contender in the international AR and AI wearable market.
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Inside Mercuryo’s Visa Partnership
Updated
February 10, 2026 11:18 PM

Close up of Visa credit cards. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
Mercuryo is a fintech startup that builds the infrastructure to enable money to move seamlessly between crypto and traditional banking systems. In simple terms, it works on the problem of turning digital assets into usable cash.
As more people hold crypto through wallets and exchanges, one practical issue keeps arising: how do you actually withdraw that money and use it in the real world? For many users, converting tokens into local currency is still slow, confusing or expensive. That gap between “owning” crypto and being able to spend it is where Mercuryo operates.
The company’s latest step forward is a partnership with Visa to improve what is known as “off-ramping” — the process of converting crypto into fiat currency like dollars or euros. Until now, this has often been slow, expensive and confusing for users. Mercuryo is using Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time payments system, to make that process faster and more direct.
With this integration, users can convert their digital tokens into local currency and send the money straight to a Visa debit or credit card. The transaction happens through systems that already power global card payments, which means the money can arrive in near real time instead of days later.
Technically, this connects two very different worlds. On one side is blockchain-based crypto, which moves value on decentralised networks. On the other side is the traditional payment system, which runs on banks, cards and regulated rails. Mercuryo’s platform sits between the two and handles the conversion and movement of funds.
Instead of users leaving their wallet or exchange to cash out, Mercuryo allows the conversion to happen inside the apps and platforms they already use. The user does not need to understand the plumbing behind it. They just see that crypto becomes spendable money on their card.
This matters because access is what makes any financial system usable. If people cannot easily move their money, they treat it as locked or risky. Faster off-ramps make digital assets more practical, not just speculative.
Mercuryo’s work is not about creating new tokens or trading tools. It is about building the pipes that let money move smoothly between Web3 and the traditional financial world. The Visa partnership strengthens those pipes by using a global, trusted payments network that already works at scale.
Visa also framed the partnership as a bridge between systems. Anastasia Serikova, Head of Visa Direct, Europe, said: "By leveraging Visa Direct's capabilities, Mercuryo is not only making converting to fiat faster, simpler and more accessible than ever—it's building bridges between the crypto space and the traditional financial system. This integration empowers users to seamlessly convert digital assets into fiat in near real time, creating a more connected and convenient payment experience".
Over time, this kind of infrastructure is what determines whether crypto remains niche or becomes part of everyday finance. Not through headlines, but through systems that quietly reduce friction.
Mercuryo’s direction is clear: make digital assets easier to use, easier to exit and easier to connect to the money systems people already rely on.