While major tech companies like Meta and Apple focused on smart eyewear and mixed reality headsets in 2023, Finnish startup IXI quietly emerged with a breakthrough product—autofocus glasses designed to help the visually impaired.
Founded in 2021, IXI raised $36 million in funding in April to bring its innovative glasses to market. These prescription lenses promise to improve the way people with poor eyesight experience the world.
“Tech giants aren’t solving vision problems,” said Niko Eiden, IXI’s CEO and cofounder. “They’re focused on smart eyewear for AI assistants and social media, not on fixing eyesight.”
Eiden, who spent 14 years at Nokia developing AR tech and later co-founded Varjo, a leader in mixed reality, knows the importance of vision technology. Unlike other smart glasses, IXI’s product doesn’t include AI, cameras, or VR features. Instead, the glasses use a low-power sensor that tracks the movement of the user’s eye. By sending light pulses and measuring the reflections, the sensor determines if the wearer is looking near, far, or in-between.
This information is sent to the lenses, which contain liquid crystals. The application of an electric field to these crystals changes their structure, allowing the lenses to autofocus in just 0.2 seconds.
IXI’s autofocus glasses aim to replace bifocals and progressive lenses, offering a versatile solution for multiple vision distances, such as reading or driving. Unlike traditional lenses that have limited focus zones and distortion at the edges, IXI’s design promises clear, sharp vision across the entire lens.
Despite these advances, IXI is still in the R&D phase and has not set a launch date. The company faces challenges like transparency, haze, and ensuring the glasses are comfortable for all-day wear. Additionally, they must meet medical standards for prescription glasses.
Despite the hurdles, Eiden is optimistic about the potential of his technology to disrupt the eyewear industry. The global eyewear market is worth $200 billion and continues to grow, driven by increasing vision issues linked to screen time and poor lighting.
IXI is not alone in the field. French startup Laclarée and Japan’s Elcyo are also working on similar autofocus technologies, although neither has released a product yet.
With new funding, IXI plans to expand its team and research efforts, as well as move into a new lab space. The company expects to showcase its glasses in live demos later this year.
“From static to dynamic lenses, this is the natural evolution,” said Eiden. “Whether it’s us or someone else, this technology will be cracked.”
Related topics:
