MILAN, Sept 17 (Reuters) - EssilorLuxottica

said on Tuesday it had extended its partnership with Meta

Platforms ( META ) by agreeing a 10-year deal to continue

developing smart eyewear.

"The incredible work we've done with Meta, still in its

early stages, has already proven to be an important milestone in

our journey to making glasses the gateway to the connected

world," EssilorLuxottica CEO Francesco Milleri said.

In the press release there was no reference to the

possibility of Meta buying a stake in the eyewear maker. In July

the head of EssilorLuxottica said the tech giant had informed

him that it might invest in the company.

Previously the Wall Street Journal reported that the two

companies had discussed Meta taking a 5% stake in the

Franco-Italian group.

EssilorLuxottica and Meta have been collaborating since

2019, creating two generations of Ray-Ban branded smart glasses.

Although the launch of the first smart glasses struggled to

gain traction among consumers, the latest version, introduced in

late 2023, has sold more units in a few months than the previous

ones did in two years.

Ray-Ban Meta's smart eyewear allows consumers to make phone

calls, listen to music and take photos just by pressing a button

on top of the right temple of the glasses. A multimodal

artificial intelligence (AI) function was also added in May for

U.S. and Canadian customers only.

"I'm proud of the work we've done with EssilorLuxottica so

far, and I'm excited about our long-term roadmap ahead. We have

the opportunity to turn glasses into the next major technology

platform, and make it fashionable in the process," Meta CEO Mark

Zuckerberg said in a statement.