$40 million for XPANCEO to develop next-gen smart contact lens

Introducing XPANCEO! The Dubai-based deep tech start-up is developing the next generation of computing via an invisible and weightless smart contact lens. 

(Will that mean it doesn’t count as screen time? 👀)

Oh, and did we mention they just raised a $40 million seed-round?

• Launched in 2021, and founded by Roman Axelrod and Valentyn Volkov, up until now the start-up was bootstrapped.

💰 Investor check: The round was led by a single investor: Hong Kong-based Opportunity Ventures (Asia). ‍

📱 But what about my smartphone? 

Whilst smartphones have proven revolutionary, they still suffer from limitations in form, screen space, and can hinder natural human interaction. 

*shudders at screen-time report*

What if devices could adapt to us, not the other way around?

You: Impossible.

Xpanceo: But… what if I told you, they could. 

👁 Everything everywhere all at once

XPANCEO is creating an ultra-thin smart contact lens that aims to overcome these limitations and consequently redefine how we interact with the real and digital worlds.

The goal? An integrated, infinite screen experience using advanced photonics, unifying all tech functions seamlessly into one's field of view. 

By leveraging cutting-edge optical materials (think low-dimensional and van der Waals compounds) the experience is user-friendly for wearers, feeling just like natural vision.

• To date the company has engineered and successfully tested three separate prototypes to ensure functionalities such as night vision and zoom, real-time health monitoring, and the ability to see video and graphic content in AR.

The future

The capital injection will turbo-charge the production of a new prototype that merges several features into a singular device.

• XPANCEO expects to complete the first all-in-one prototype by 2026.

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