Overview

• Meta opened a £12 million audio research lab in Cambridge on July 9 to develop machine-learning-driven sound technologies for its Ray-Ban Meta and newly announced Oakley Meta glasses.
• The facility features ultra-quiet anechoic and semi-anechoic chambers, a configurable reverberation room with 101 adjustable panels and instrumented mock home environments.
• A 3,600 sq ft motion-tracking zone uses optical capture with sub-millimetre accuracy to teach AI systems how users move and interact in real time.
• Researchers will train AI models to isolate speech, filter background noise and adjust audio output to user behaviour across varied acoustic scenarios.
• The investment reinforces Meta’s push into AI-powered hardware, deepening its Ox-Cam corridor presence and aligning with the UK’s planned £22 billion public R&D funding championed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.