Over half of Americans wear corrective glasses or contact lenses. While there is no shortage of inexpensive and luxury frames available online or in stores, consumers can only purchase them with a current eyeglass prescription.
This means they first need an eye exam from an optometrist to get that prescription. But because of the nationwide shortage of eye care doctors, it can take weeks, especially in rural areas, to get an appointment.
Eyebot, a new startup coming out of hiding on Thursday, wants to cut the time it takes to get an eye exam to about 90 seconds without the direct involvement of an optometrist. Starting in October, the Boston-based company will open its self-service vision testing terminals in malls, grocery stores and pharmacies in New England.
Anyone who wants to have their vision checked can walk up to Eyebot’s 5-foot kiosk, push a button, and the company’s computer vision technology will automatically scan the person’s eyes, pulling out glasses or contact lenses. (While Eyebot can’t perform initial contact lens fittings, it can update an existing prescription.)
Eyebot founder and CEO Matthias Hofmann said he developed similar technology ten years ago at EyeNetra, a startup that used smartphones to test vision. (EyeNetra went out of business several years ago, according to Hoffman, who worked there as chief engineer until 2015.)
“We realized that using smartphones is not really the solution,” said Hoffman, who, before joining EyeNetra, was a postdoctoral researcher in tomography at Harvard Medical School. “What people want is a fully automated experience where they don’t have to learn or do anything complicated. Our technology now allows people to simply stand in front of our units.”
Prescriptions created by Eyebot are finalized by teledoctors within 24 hours, and consumers who want to buy glasses from any retailer must pay $30 for their exam. But if they buy glasses from one of Eyebot’s partner brands, the eye exam is free. (The technology is registered with the FDA, Hoffman said.)
The company hopes that major eyewear brands will rent the Eyebot terminals and place them in retail locations of their choice.. Once a shopper completes their exam, they can choose to purchase glasses from that brand directly on a touch screen inside the kiosk or using their smartphone. Eyebot plans to make money by partnering with these eyewear brands and taking a commission on each sale.
“Retailers are looking for new channels to reach customers,” Hoffman said. “Now they have an opportunity to show their brand at CVS, Walgreens, Stop and Shop, Kroger and on college campuses.”
Eyebot is close to finalizing partnership deals with several major eyeglass and contact lens retailers, Hoffman said. “It’s a very profitable model. The demand for what we are doing is very high.”
Demand for investment in Eyebot’s seed round was also high, according to Hoffman. On Thursday, the company announced a $6 million funding round led by AlleyCorpand Ubiquity Ventures with participation from Susa Ventures, Village Global, Baukunst, Ravelin and Spacecadet.
The capital will be used for geographic expansion.
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