Two former Harvard students are preparing to launch a pair of ‘always-on’ AI smart glasses that record and transcribe every conversation, which offers wearers an unprecedented digital memory and real-time information, but which also raises concerns about privacy and surveillance.
Who Is Behind the Project?
The device, named Halo X, has been developed by AnhPhu Nguyen and Caine Ardayfio, who left Harvard to pursue the venture. The duo previously made the news when they built a facial recognition app capable of identifying strangers using Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses. That earlier experiment was intended to highlight privacy risks, but their latest work shifts focus to turning wearable AI into a mainstream productivity tool.
Backers
Backed by $1 million in seed funding from US investors, including Pillar VC and Soma Capital, the pair are pitching Halo X as a way to extend human intelligence. They describe the glasses as offering “infinite memory” by capturing and processing every spoken word in real time.
How the Glasses Work
Halo X looks like conventional eyewear, but its frame conceals microphones and a discreet display. Conversations are captured continuously, transcribed by speech recognition software, and then fed through AI systems that provide real-time prompts, reminders, or supporting information via the lens.
The transcription engine is provided by California-based firm Soniox, while reasoning comes from Google’s Gemini model, and internet search is integrated through Perplexity. The company says audio is deleted once transcribed, rather than stored, and stresses that it is working towards stronger compliance and encryption measures to reassure future buyers.
Why ‘Always-On’ Matters
The standout difference is that Halo X does not require activation. For example, unlike Meta’s Ray-Bans or Snap’s Spectacles, which focus on recording photos or short clips, Nguyen and Ardayfio’s glasses are designed to listen continuously. The idea is that conversations should never be missed, whether in meetings, social interactions or chance encounters.
For the founders, this constant operation appears to be a key way to make the product genuinely useful and extra convenient to users. By eliminating the need to press record or take manual notes, they believe the glasses can function as a true cognitive assistant, capturing every word and supplying relevant data instantly.
Used For What?
The potential business applications are wide-ranging. For example, in meetings, the glasses could create a full transcript without a separate note-taker. In sales, staff could receive live prompts about a client’s history or preferences. In medicine or law, professionals could rely on transcripts to support record-keeping.
For companies, the attraction is therefore the ability to document and analyse conversations automatically could save time and improve accuracy. However, the risks are equally apparent. For example, in industries where confidentiality is paramount, the presence of an always-listening device could be problematic, and firms would need to establish strict policies on when and how such glasses could be used.
A Challenge to Established Players
By launching at $249, Halo X is priced far below devices like Apple’s Vision Pro, which retails at over $3,000. While those products emphasise immersive mixed reality, Halo X focuses squarely on augmenting everyday communication. This positions the glasses as less of an entertainment device and more as a professional tool, potentially creating a new niche in the wearables market.
For larger rivals such as Meta, Google and Apple, the arrival of Halo X shows that smaller startups can still push wearable AI in radical directions. Whether consumers accept the “always-on” trade-off remains to be seen, but the glasses represent a more practical, lightweight alternative to bulkier headsets.
Privacy and Security at the Forefront
The design has inevitably raised concerns about privacy. Unlike Meta’s glasses, Halo X does not include a recording light or other visible indicator. While the company insists that audio is deleted after transcription, critics argue that the very act of constant listening could erode expectations of privacy in public or private settings.
In the US, state-level two-party consent laws make it illegal to record a conversation without permission from all participants. In the UK, covert recording in workplaces or client meetings could also breach both legal and ethical standards. For businesses, allowing staff to wear Halo X may therefore carry compliance risks as well as reputational ones.
Practical Limitations
Aside from privacy, technical factors may also determine the glasses’ fate. For example, battery life is one question. Continuous recording and processing could quickly drain power, making it difficult to wear the glasses all day. Comfort and social acceptability are other issues. Google Glass failed partly because wearers faced social backlash, and some analysts suggest the same could happen with Halo X if people feel uncomfortable being around someone whose glasses are always listening.
On the technical front, accuracy in noisy environments remains another test. Speech recognition systems have improved dramatically, but background noise, multiple speakers and varied accents can still reduce reliability. For the glasses to gain traction in professional settings, they will need to deliver consistently accurate transcriptions and responses.
Regulation and Adoption Challenges
It should be noted that, useful features aside, for UK businesses and regulators, Halo X poses some immediate questions. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the recording and processing of personal data requires a lawful basis, and covert capture of conversations could put companies in breach of strict compliance rules. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has previously warned firms against deploying surveillance technology without clear justification, and wearable devices such as Halo X may well fall into that category.
Sectors that deal with highly sensitive information, from financial services to healthcare, would face particular scrutiny. Employers would need to weigh the potential productivity benefits against the risk of breaching confidentiality or data protection law. Even if Halo X deletes recordings after transcription, the act of processing still constitutes data handling, meaning it falls under regulatory oversight.
At the same time, adoption patterns are likely to differ by industry. Technology and creative sectors, which often embrace early experimentation, may be more open to trialling the glasses. By contrast, regulated professions such as law and medicine may take a more cautious approach until clearer guidelines are established.
On the competitive side, Halo X enters a market where the biggest technology firms are betting heavily on wearables. Apple’s Vision Pro and Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses emphasise entertainment and communication, while Microsoft continues to back its HoloLens for enterprise. By focusing on continuous transcription and contextual intelligence, Halo X is carving out a different niche, but it remains to be seen whether customers will accept the trade-offs required by an always-on design.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
For UK businesses, the decision to engage with technology like Halo X will hinge on balancing potential productivity gains against legal, ethical and reputational risks. The glasses could transform how meetings are run and how records are kept, offering speed and convenience that current tools cannot match. Yet the same features that make them useful also create liability. Firms operating in sectors with strict confidentiality obligations may find adoption more of a risk than an opportunity unless stronger safeguards are developed.
For regulators, Halo X represents the next stage in a wider debate over wearable AI. Questions around informed consent, data processing, and acceptable limits on surveillance are not new, but devices that operate constantly and silently bring these issues to the surface in sharper terms. Authorities such as the ICO will almost certainly be pressed to clarify how existing rules apply, and whether new measures may be required.
Competitors and investors will also be watching closely. If Halo X gains traction, larger players may be forced to rethink their own wearables strategies and consider more enterprise-focused designs. If the glasses falter, it will reinforce the view that the public is not ready to accept always-on recording in daily life. Either way, the launch underlines how quickly AI is moving beyond phones and laptops into devices worn on the body, with all the social and commercial consequences that brings.
For individual users, the promise of “infinite memory” is enticing but the trade-offs are stark. To wear Halo X is to invite a layer of surveillance into every interaction, whether or not others consent. That tension between utility and intrusion will decide whether the glasses become an accepted business tool or another ambitious idea that fails to gain social acceptance.