diff --git a/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementBuilderExtensions.cs b/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementBuilderExtensions.cs
index f8635a79..3ed15615 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementBuilderExtensions.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementBuilderExtensions.cs
@@ -58,22 +58,102 @@ public static IFeatureManagementBuilder WithVariantService<TService>(this IFeatu
                 throw new InvalidOperationException($"A variant service of {typeof(TService).FullName} has already been added.");
             }
 
+            // Capture the service descriptors before the service provider is built
+            // This allows us to create factories without instantiating services eagerly
+            List<ServiceDescriptor> serviceDescriptors = builder.Services
+                .Where(descriptor => descriptor.ServiceType == typeof(TService))
+                .ToList();
+
             if (builder.Services.Any(descriptor => descriptor.ServiceType == typeof(IFeatureManager) && descriptor.Lifetime == ServiceLifetime.Scoped))
             {
                 builder.Services.AddScoped<IVariantServiceProvider<TService>>(sp => new VariantServiceProvider<TService>(
                     featureName,
                     sp.GetRequiredService<IVariantFeatureManager>(),
-                    sp.GetRequiredService<IEnumerable<TService>>()));
+                    CreateServiceFactories<TService>(sp, serviceDescriptors)));
             }
             else
             {
                 builder.Services.AddSingleton<IVariantServiceProvider<TService>>(sp => new VariantServiceProvider<TService>(
                     featureName,
                     sp.GetRequiredService<IVariantFeatureManager>(),
-                    sp.GetRequiredService<IEnumerable<TService>>()));
+                    CreateServiceFactories<TService>(sp, serviceDescriptors)));
             }
 
             return builder;
         }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Creates factory delegates for all registered implementations of TService.
+        /// This enables lazy instantiation - services are only created when actually needed.
+        /// </summary>
+        private static IEnumerable<VariantServiceFactory<TService>> CreateServiceFactories<TService>(
+            IServiceProvider serviceProvider,
+            List<ServiceDescriptor> serviceDescriptors) where TService : class
+        {
+            var factories = new List<VariantServiceFactory<TService>>();
+
+            foreach (ServiceDescriptor descriptor in serviceDescriptors)
+            {
+                Type implementationType = GetImplementationType(descriptor);
+
+                // Create a lazy factory for each service
+                // The factory creates a singleton instance that is only instantiated when first invoked
+                var lazyService = new Lazy<TService>(() => CreateServiceFromDescriptor<TService>(serviceProvider, descriptor));
+
+                // For factory-based registrations, implementationType will be null
+                // The VariantServiceFactory will lazily determine the type by invoking the factory
+                factories.Add(new VariantServiceFactory<TService>(
+                    implementationType,
+                    () => lazyService.Value));
+            }
+
+            return factories;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Creates a service instance from a service descriptor.
+        /// </summary>
+        private static TService CreateServiceFromDescriptor<TService>(IServiceProvider serviceProvider, ServiceDescriptor descriptor) where TService : class
+        {
+            if (descriptor.ImplementationInstance != null)
+            {
+                return descriptor.ImplementationInstance as TService;
+            }
+            else if (descriptor.ImplementationFactory != null)
+            {
+                return descriptor.ImplementationFactory(serviceProvider) as TService;
+            }
+            else if (descriptor.ImplementationType != null)
+            {
+                // Use ActivatorUtilities to create the instance with dependency injection
+                return ActivatorUtilities.CreateInstance(serviceProvider, descriptor.ImplementationType) as TService;
+            }
+
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Gets the implementation type from a service descriptor.
+        /// Returns null for factory-based registrations where the type cannot be determined without invocation.
+        /// </summary>
+        private static Type GetImplementationType(ServiceDescriptor descriptor)
+        {
+            if (descriptor.ImplementationType != null)
+            {
+                return descriptor.ImplementationType;
+            }
+            else if (descriptor.ImplementationInstance != null)
+            {
+                return descriptor.ImplementationInstance.GetType();
+            }
+            else if (descriptor.ImplementationFactory != null)
+            {
+                // For factory-based registrations, we can't determine the type without invoking the factory
+                // Return null and let VariantServiceFactory lazily determine it
+                return null;
+            }
+
+            return null;
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/VariantServiceProvider.cs b/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/VariantServiceProvider.cs
index d4b3f514..c603cd2e 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/VariantServiceProvider.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.FeatureManagement/VariantServiceProvider.cs
@@ -11,12 +11,52 @@
 
 namespace Microsoft.FeatureManagement
 {
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Holds factory metadata for lazy service instantiation.
+    /// </summary>
+    internal class VariantServiceFactory<TService> where TService : class
+    {
+        private readonly Lazy<Type> _implementationType;
+
+        public Type ImplementationType => _implementationType.Value;
+        public Func<TService> Factory { get; }
+
+        public VariantServiceFactory(Type implementationType, Func<TService> factory)
+        {
+            if (factory == null)
+            {
+                throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(factory));
+            }
+
+            Factory = factory;
+
+            if (implementationType != null)
+            {
+                _implementationType = new Lazy<Type>(() => implementationType);
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                // For factory-based registrations where type is unknown upfront,
+                // we lazily determine it by invoking the factory once.
+                // Note: The factory will be invoked to get the type when checking for a match,
+                // which means the instance is created at that point. This is acceptable because
+                // it only happens when we're looking for a match, and the instance is cached.
+                // Alternative approaches would require breaking changes to the registration API.
+                _implementationType = new Lazy<Type>(() =>
+                {
+                    TService instance = factory();
+                    return instance?.GetType();
+                });
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
     /// <summary>
     /// Used to get different implementations of TService depending on the assigned variant from a specific variant feature flag.
     /// </summary>
     internal class VariantServiceProvider<TService> : IVariantServiceProvider<TService> where TService : class
     {
-        private readonly IEnumerable<TService> _services;
+        private readonly IEnumerable<VariantServiceFactory<TService>> _serviceFactories;
         private readonly IVariantFeatureManager _featureManager;
         private readonly string _featureName;
         private readonly ConcurrentDictionary<string, TService> _variantServiceCache;
@@ -26,15 +66,15 @@ internal class VariantServiceProvider<TService> : IVariantServiceProvider<TServi
         /// </summary>
         /// <param name="featureName">The feature flag that should be used to determine which variant of the service should be used.</param>
         /// <param name="featureManager">The feature manager to get the assigned variant of the feature flag.</param>
-        /// <param name="services">Implementation variants of TService.</param>
+        /// <param name="serviceFactories">Factory delegates for implementation variants of TService.</param>
         /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">Thrown if <paramref name="featureName"/> is null.</exception>
         /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">Thrown if <paramref name="featureManager"/> is null.</exception>
-        /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">Thrown if <paramref name="services"/> is null.</exception>
-        public VariantServiceProvider(string featureName, IVariantFeatureManager featureManager, IEnumerable<TService> services)
+        /// <exception cref="ArgumentNullException">Thrown if <paramref name="serviceFactories"/> is null.</exception>
+        public VariantServiceProvider(string featureName, IVariantFeatureManager featureManager, IEnumerable<VariantServiceFactory<TService>> serviceFactories)
         {
             _featureName = featureName ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(featureName));
             _featureManager = featureManager ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(featureManager));
-            _services = services ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(services));
+            _serviceFactories = serviceFactories ?? throw new ArgumentNullException(nameof(serviceFactories));
             _variantServiceCache = new ConcurrentDictionary<string, TService>();
         }
 
@@ -55,10 +95,15 @@ public async ValueTask<TService> GetServiceAsync(CancellationToken cancellationT
             {
                 implementation = _variantServiceCache.GetOrAdd(
                     variant.Name,
-                    (_) => _services.FirstOrDefault(
-                        service => IsMatchingVariantName(
-                            service.GetType(),
-                            variant.Name))
+                    (_) =>
+                    {
+                        // Find the matching factory by checking the implementation type
+                        VariantServiceFactory<TService> matchingFactory = _serviceFactories.FirstOrDefault(
+                            factory => IsMatchingVariantName(factory.ImplementationType, variant.Name));
+
+                        // Only invoke the factory if a match is found (lazy instantiation)
+                        return matchingFactory?.Factory();
+                    }
                 );
             }
 
diff --git a/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementTest.cs b/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementTest.cs
index 10636b84..38b80a01 100644
--- a/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementTest.cs
+++ b/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/FeatureManagementTest.cs
@@ -1811,6 +1811,57 @@ public async Task VariantBasedInjection()
             );
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task VariantServiceProviderLazyInstantiation()
+        {
+            IConfiguration configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
+                .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json")
+                .Build();
+
+            IServiceCollection services = new ServiceCollection();
+
+            // Add a singleton tracker to observe which services are instantiated
+            var tracker = new InstantiationTracker();
+            services.AddSingleton(tracker);
+
+            // Add variant implementations of IAlgorithm
+            services.AddSingleton<IAlgorithm, AlgorithmAlpha>();
+            services.AddSingleton<IAlgorithm, AlgorithmGamma>();
+            services.AddSingleton<IAlgorithm, AlgorithmDelta>();
+
+            services.AddSingleton(configuration)
+                .AddFeatureManagement()
+                .AddFeatureFilter<TargetingFilter>()
+                .WithVariantService<IAlgorithm>(Features.VariantImplementationFeature);
+
+            var targetingContextAccessor = new OnDemandTargetingContextAccessor();
+
+            services.AddSingleton<ITargetingContextAccessor>(targetingContextAccessor);
+
+            ServiceProvider serviceProvider = services.BuildServiceProvider();
+
+            IVariantServiceProvider<IAlgorithm> featuredAlgorithm = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IVariantServiceProvider<IAlgorithm>>();
+
+            // At this point, no services should have been instantiated yet
+            // This is what we want to achieve with lazy instantiation
+            Assert.Empty(tracker.InstantiatedServices);
+
+            // Set user to resolve to "AlgorithmAlpha" variant
+            targetingContextAccessor.Current = new TargetingContext
+            {
+                UserId = "UserAlpha"
+            };
+
+            // Now request the service - only AlgorithmAlpha should be instantiated
+            IAlgorithm algorithm = await featuredAlgorithm.GetServiceAsync(CancellationToken.None);
+
+            // Verify that only the selected variant was instantiated
+            Assert.Single(tracker.InstantiatedServices);
+            Assert.Contains("Alpha", tracker.InstantiatedServices);
+            Assert.NotNull(algorithm);
+            Assert.Equal("Alpha", algorithm.Style);
+        }
+
         [Fact]
         public async Task VariantFeatureFlagWithContextualFeatureFilter()
         {
diff --git a/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/VariantServices.cs b/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/VariantServices.cs
index 942b110c..fe3f7e93 100644
--- a/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/VariantServices.cs
+++ b/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/VariantServices.cs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 using Microsoft.FeatureManagement;
+using System.Collections.Generic;
 
 namespace Tests.FeatureManagement
 {
@@ -37,4 +38,51 @@ public AlgorithmOmega(string style)
             Style = style;
         }
     }
+
+    // Test service with tracking for lazy instantiation tests
+    class AlgorithmAlpha : IAlgorithm
+    {
+        public string Style { get; set; }
+
+        public AlgorithmAlpha(InstantiationTracker tracker)
+        {
+            Style = "Alpha";
+            tracker.RecordInstantiation("Alpha");
+        }
+    }
+
+    class AlgorithmGamma : IAlgorithm
+    {
+        public string Style { get; set; }
+
+        public AlgorithmGamma(InstantiationTracker tracker)
+        {
+            Style = "Gamma";
+            tracker.RecordInstantiation("Gamma");
+        }
+    }
+
+    class AlgorithmDelta : IAlgorithm
+    {
+        public string Style { get; set; }
+
+        public AlgorithmDelta(InstantiationTracker tracker)
+        {
+            Style = "Delta";
+            tracker.RecordInstantiation("Delta");
+        }
+    }
+
+    // Tracker to record which services are instantiated
+    class InstantiationTracker
+    {
+        private readonly List<string> _instantiatedServices = new List<string>();
+
+        public void RecordInstantiation(string serviceName)
+        {
+            _instantiatedServices.Add(serviceName);
+        }
+
+        public IReadOnlyList<string> InstantiatedServices => _instantiatedServices.AsReadOnly();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/appsettings.json b/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/appsettings.json
index 018ef5c4..a6f1ec61 100644
--- a/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/appsettings.json
+++ b/tests/Tests.FeatureManagement/appsettings.json
@@ -469,7 +469,8 @@
                   "Users": [
                     "UserOmega",
                     "UserSigma",
-                    "UserBeta"
+                    "UserBeta",
+                    "UserAlpha"
                   ]
                 }
               }
@@ -486,6 +487,9 @@
           },
           {
             "name": "Omega"
+          },
+          {
+            "name": "AlgorithmAlpha"
           }
         ],
         "allocation": {
@@ -507,6 +511,12 @@
               "users": [
                 "UserSigma"
               ]
+            },
+            {
+              "variant": "AlgorithmAlpha",
+              "users": [
+                "UserAlpha"
+              ]
             }
           ]
         }