Warby Parker

Warby Parker Inc.

Company type	Public benefit corporation
Industry	Eyewear
Founded	February 2010 (2010-02)
Founder	Jeffrey Raider, Andrew Hunt, Neil Blumenthal, David Gilboa
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Area served	United States, Canada
Key people	Jeffrey Raider, Andrew Hunt, Neil Blumenthal, David Gilboa
Products	Prescription glasses, contact lenses, sunglasses, eye examinations
Number of employees	~130 (at manufacturing facility in 2017)
Website	www.warbyparker.com

Warby Parker Inc. is a U.S.-based eyewear company specializing in prescription glasses, contact lenses, and sunglasses, with its headquarters located in New York City. Established in 2010, it initially operated solely as an online retailer but currently derives roughly two-thirds of its income from 276 brick-and-mortar stores—271 across the United States and 5 in Canada. The firm also offers eye examinations and serves a customer base of 2.28 million, with an average purchase amount of $263. Warby Parker has set a goal to expand its retail footprint to 900 locations.

The company handles product design internally and sells directly to customers through its e-commerce platform and physical stores. Frame materials are sourced and manufactured via partners located in Italy, Vietnam, Japan, and China, frequently sharing production facilities with competitors such as Luxottica. Founders Jeffrey Raider, Andrew Hunt, Neil Blumenthal, and David Gilboa continue to serve as principal executives.

The company's name, "Warby Parker," draws inspiration from characters found in a journal written by Jack Kerouac.

History

Warby Parker was created in 2010 in Philadelphia by Neil Blumenthal, Andrew Hunt, David Gilboa, and Jeffrey Raider, who were MBA candidates at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania at the time. The venture began with a $2,500 seed capital injection from the Venture Initiation Program. Shortly after its February 2010 debut, the company attracted early attention from Vogue.

In May 2011, Warby Parker completed its initial funding round raising $2.5 million. This was followed by a $12.5 million Series A round in September 2011 and a $37 million Series B round in September 2012. Early 2013 saw additional capital infusions including $4 million from American Express and Mickey Drexler. By the end of 2011, the business had shipped over 100,000 pairs of glasses and employed around 60 people; by late 2012, staff numbers had grown to approximately 100. In April 2015, it secured $100 million led by T. Rowe Price, which valued the company at $1.2 billion.

In 2017, Warby Parker invested $16 million to establish a 34,000-square-foot optical manufacturing facility in Rockland County, New York. This facility employs about 130 workers and was intended to internalize production processes and improve operational oversight.

The company's product range briefly expanded in 2016 to include prescription monocles alongside eyeglasses, sunglasses, and contact lenses.

By March 2018, total funding reached nearly $300 million following a $75 million Series E round. In August 2020, combined Series F and G financings raised an additional $245 million, increasing the company's valuation to $3 billion.

Warby Parker debuted on the New York Stock Exchange through a direct listing on September 29, 2021.

In October 2023, a federal appellate court determined that Warby Parker's use of keyword advertising related to 1-800 Contacts did not constitute trademark infringement.

Most recently at Google I/O 2025, Google revealed a strategic alliance with Warby Parker to co-develop AI-enabled smart glasses utilizing the Android XR platform and powered by the Gemini AI assistant. Google is committing up to $150 million toward this project, marking a major advancement into intelligent eyewear technology.

Retail approach

Warby Parker markets its eyewear through both e-commerce and physical stores located throughout the United States and Canada. Its Home-Try-On program enables customers to choose five frames online and test them at home for a period of five days at no cost. Additionally, the company provides virtual try-on capabilities via its mobile application.

Established in 2010 as a purely online retailer, Warby Parker later ventured into brick-and-mortar retail by experimenting with different showroom concepts, including boutiques across the country. In 2012, it introduced the Class Trip, a distinctive yellow school bus transformed into a traveling store that toured various regions nationwide. The brand's inaugural flagship store debuted in 2013, coinciding with the creation of an in-house point-of-sale system that was fully implemented by 2015.

In 2015, Warby Parker entered into its first national retail collaboration with Nordstrom, launching six specially curated pop-up shops across the United States. By January 2017, the company operated around 41 stores spanning 28 states, with additional locations in Toronto and Vancouver. This footprint expanded to 64 stores by February 2018, demonstrating substantial physical retail growth.

Corporate social responsibility

Warby Parker follows a social entrepreneurship framework based on a buy one, give one philosophy. For every pair of glasses purchased, the company funds the creation of another pair that is distributed through nonprofit organizations such as VisionSpring and Restoring Vision. By mid-2014, Warby Parker had donated one million pairs of eyeglasses to individuals in need. In 2015, it launched the Pupils Project to offer complimentary vision screenings, eye exams, and glasses to students attending public schools in the United States. As of 2025, this program has provided over 20 million pairs of glasses. The company also upholds a commitment to being fully carbon-neutral.

Originally certified as a B Corp, Warby Parker allowed this certification to expire but later reestablished itself as a public benefit corporation and regained B Corp status in mid-2021 prior to its direct stock market listing. This decision aligned with its corporate strategy that balances social impact with financial objectives.