At Google I/O 2025, Sergey Brin made a rare and candid appearance—and wasted no time reflecting on one of Google’s most notorious products: Google Glass. Speaking alongside DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis during a live conversation hosted by Alex Kantrowitz, Brin openly admitted, “I made a lot of mistakes with Google Glass.”
It’s not often you see a tech pioneer publicly own up to failure, but Brin was refreshingly honest. He said he underestimated the complexity of consumer electronics, especially the supply chains. “I didn’t know anything about them,” Brin added, noting how that lack of experience impacted the final product. But even with those setbacks, Brin made it clear he hasn’t given up on the vision—literally. He still believes in smart glasses as a transformative tech platform, and he’s excited about Google’s second shot at getting them right.
That new attempt was front and center earlier in the day when Google unveiled its Android XR smart glasses project, a decade after the original Google Glass fizzled out. This time, the reboot is powered by AI innovations like DeepMind’s Project Astra. Onstage demos showed the glasses handling live translations, offering navigation, and fielding AI-powered queries—hinting at just how far the technology has come.
To avoid repeating past mistakes, Google isn’t going it alone. The company is collaborating with major partners like Samsung and Xreal. One of the most strategic alliances is with Warby Parker—Google is investing up to $150 million and acquiring an equity stake in the eyewear giant to help solve the design and manufacturing hurdles that plagued the original Google Glass. Brin emphasized that working with established players in both eyewear and hardware gives the new version a real shot at success.
Beyond smart glasses, Brin’s return to the spotlight signals something bigger. Though he had stepped back from day-to-day operations at Google, Brin confirmed he’s now back in the Mountain View office nearly every day. His focus? Helping the Gemini team push the boundaries of multimodal AI. He’s personally contributing to models like Veo 3, which generates video content from text prompts—one of Google’s most ambitious AI projects to date.
His reason for returning is simple: the AI moment is too big to miss. “Anybody who’s a computer scientist should not be retired right now,” Brin told the audience. “They should be working on AI.”
That drive has reportedly influenced Google’s internal culture as well. Previous reports revealed that Brin urged Gemini staff to increase in-office presence and even suggested that 60-hour work weeks are optimal for productivity—an intensity that mirrors his passion for staying ahead in the AI race.
With Google Glass making a comeback and AI innovation accelerating, Brin’s reemergence could mark a turning point—not just for Google’s hardware ambitions, but for the broader future of wearable computing.
