Forget Consumer AR. This Is Where Smart Glasses Actually Pay Off ft. Mark Greget, CEO of NuEyes

Forget Consumer AR. This Is Where Smart Glasses Actually Pay Off ft. Mark Greget, CEO of NuEyes

Author: Charlie Fink Productions August 14, 2026 Duration: 50:46

Charlie, Ted, and Rony open on Mark Zuckerberg's new AI "manifesto," released, fittingly, via a call to The Verge's Alex Heath made from Meta Ray-Bans on a fishing boat. The group debates whether Zuckerberg's sudden embrace of open, on-device AI is a genuine philosophy or a business move from a company that can no longer out-build its rivals. From there: OpenAI and Google both cross a billion users, OpenAI's new strategy of acquiring companies outright (via its partner Thrive) to guarantee AI adoption rather than sell into it, and the eye-watering $2 billion price tag on an 80-person AI infrastructure startup.


Mark Greget, founder and CEO of NuEyes, joins for the back half to make the case that enterprise, not consumer, is where smart glasses are proving their worth right now. Mark walks through a decade of building visualization tools for surgeons, from early low-vision devices to NuEyes' current surgical system, which one doctor used to cut a 10-plus hour procedure down to three. The conversation digs into the real ROI math hospitals run on OR time, why clinical outcomes (not consumer hype) are what get insurance companies to pay attention, and why Mark is staying heads-down on five surgical specialties instead of chasing every use case.


Key Moments:

[00:35] Zuckerberg's AI manifesto and the strategy behind it

[07:05] OpenAI and Google cross a billion users

[09:05] OpenAI's Thrive strategy: buying companies to guarantee AI adoption

[11:05] The $2 billion AI infrastructure acquisition

[16:05] Mark Greget joins to tell us what NuEyes has been up to over the last decade

[43:35] The ROI math: what OR time is actually worth

[45:35] From "nice to have" to critical path in the operating room


Brought to you by Zappar and Mattercraft, the leading visual development environment for immersive 3D web experiences. Start building at mattercraft.io.


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Hosted by Charlie Fink, with regular voices like Ted Schilowitz and Rony Abovitz, The AI XR Podcast goes beyond the headlines to explore the human stories shaping artificial intelligence and extended reality. This isn't a series of dry tech lectures. Instead, you'll hear unfiltered conversations with the people who were actually in the room-founders of pioneering companies, former executives from giants like Google DeepMind and Meta Reality Labs, and the creative minds behind tools like Unity and Apple Vision Pro. Each episode feels like a candid discussion, pulling back the curtain on how these technologies are built, the real business challenges faced, and their unexpected impacts on entertainment and industry. The podcast thrives on access, featuring interviews with startup CEOs navigating the current landscape, researchers pushing the boundaries of AI, and Hollywood directors applying these tools in new ways. It’s a direct line to the veterans and visionaries defining our digital future. For anyone curious about the convergence of virtual worlds and intelligent machines, this is an essential listen, offering context and clarity from those who have helped build it all. Charlie Fink Productions brings these nuanced talks to life, making complex topics relatable and deeply engaging.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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