Xpanceo, a Dubai startup, is building an AI XR contact lens
SMRTR summary
Roman Axelrod wants to put artificial intelligence directly inside your eye. His Dubai-based company Xpanceo is developing smart contact lenses that could make smartphones obsolete by embedding computing power into human vision itself.
While tech giants chase AR glasses, Axelrod and his co-founder, nanophotonics researcher Valentyn Volkov, are building what they call a "habitat for intelligence" using atom-thin materials. Their contact lens doesn't just display information—it monitors health, tracks biosignals, and creates what Axelrod describes as "seamless collaboration between human senses and artificial intelligence."
The physics breakthrough is remarkable: "When the distance between the display and eye is zero, all the light reaches the retina," Volkov explains. "You can lower power consumption hundreds of times and still get a clear image."
After producing 25 prototypes over four years, the 100-person team recently raised $250 million at a $1.35 billion valuation—the largest AR/VR funding round ever. Medical applications come first, with consumer lenses planned for later this decade.
Their first fully integrated prototype debuts by 2026, potentially ushering in what they call the "after-glasses era."
SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Forbes.
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