Latest news with #Xpanceo
Business Insider
a day ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's the pitch deck smart contact lens startup Xpanceo used to raise $250 million and become a unicorn
Xpanceo says smart contact lenses will be the computing interface of the future. The Dubai-based startup has raised $250 million at a $1.35 billion valuation. Here's the pitch deck laying out its team, product road map, and more. Smart contact lens startup Xpanceo announced earlier this month that it has raised $250 million in Series A funding, valuing the company at $1.35 billion. In the coming years, the Dubai-based startup envisions contact lenses that could offer augmented reality, night vision, and zoom, health tracking through tear fluid, and other features. "The initial idea was to merge all the screens you have into one limitless screen," and to arm wearers with "new abilities," said cofounder and managing partner Roman Axelrod, a 35-year-old serial entrepreneur. He said the company's unicorn status is a sign it's on the right path. Physicist Valentyn Volkov also cofounded Xpanceo. Hong Kong-based Opportunity Venture led the funding round, which also led Xpanceo's $40 million seed round in 2023. The funds will go to product development and expanding the company's team, which consists of about 100 employees. Xpanceo has built 15 prototype lenses, including ones that can charge wirelessly and measure interocular pressure, or eye fluid pressure. It aims to combine these capabilities into one lens by early 2027 and begin seeking FDA approval. After that, it plans to start on narrow business use cases, such as working with medical organizations on lenses that can measure interocular pressure. That's because launching a first-generation product to the consumer market can be "suicide," Axelrod said, nodding to Humane and Rabbit. Both AI wearables weathered negative reviews, and Humane's device was discontinued. Business customer projects could arrive as soon as 2028, and the lenses could be available to the public in the early 2030s, he said. In the future, lenses could be controlled by eye tracking, tongue movements, or voice control, the company said. Xpanceo isn't alone in attempting to solve the complexity of smart contact lenses. Google and Samsung began exploring the field roughly a decade ago. XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO XPANCEO
CairoScene
09-07-2025
- Business
- CairoScene
Dubai's Xpanceo Raises $250 Million to Make Night‑Vision Contact Lens
Dubai-based Xpanceo raises $250 million to refine its smart contact lenses featuring night vision, AR capabilities, and hands-free control via gaze and voice. Jul 09, 2025 Dubai-based deep-tech startup Xpanceo has raised a $250 million funding round to advance development of its smart contact lenses, which deliver night vision, augmented reality, and hands-free control via gaze and voice commands. Founded by a Russian-Ukrainian team and supported by the establishment of a state-of-the-art lab in Dubai, Xpanceo is developing compact, intelligent lenses packed with microprojectors, AI chips, biosensors, and wireless connectivity. The lenses form the basis of an "Invisible Computer" concept that replaces smartphones and wearables with contact lens-based interfaces inspired by sci-fi references like Iron Man. The $250 million investment will support human trials, further R&D, and expansion of the Dubai lab, aiming for a commercial launch in 2027–2028. Xpanceo's founders hope to unlock new interactions and sensory capabilities -ranging from infrared vision to health tracking - while integrating invisible watermarking to help distinguish AI-generated content. The funding positions Xpanceo among a new wave of capital-backed AI and wearables companies in the MENA region, marking a strategic push toward frontier technologies that bridge digital and physical worlds.
Bloomberg
08-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Dubai Startup Raises $250 Million for Night-Vision Contact Lens
A Dubai-based startup founded by a Russian and a Ukrainian raised $250 million to develop smart contact lenses that provide night vision, zoom capabilities and real-time health checks. The Series A round, led by Hong Kong-based Opportunity Venture (Asia) Ltd., values Xpanceo at $1.35 billion, the startup said in a statement Tuesday. Opportunity Venture provided $40 million in seed financing for the company in 2023.
