More than half of Americans wear corrective glasses or contact lenses. While there is no shortage of low-cost and luxury frames available online or in stores, consumers can only purchase them with a current eyeglass prescription.
This means they first need a vision test from an optometrist to get this prescription. But because of a nationwide shortage of eye care professionalsit can take weeks, especially in rural areas, to get an appointment.
Eyebot, a new startup coming out of stealth 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 deploy the self-service and vision testing terminals to malls, grocery stores and pharmacies in New England.
Anyone looking to get their vision checked can walk up to the Eyebot’s five-foot stand and press a button, and the company’s computer vision technology will automatically scan the person’s eyes, removing their glasses or contacts. (While Eyebot can’t perform the initial contact lens fitting, it can update an existing prescription.)
Eyebot founder and CEO Matthias Hofmann said he developed similar technology 10 years ago at EyeNetra, a startup that used smartphones to vision test. EyeNetra went out of business several years ago, according to Hofmann, who worked there as the lead engineer until 2015.
“We realized that using a smartphone is not really the answer,” said Hofmann, who, before joining EyeNetra, was a postdoctoral researcher in mammography 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.”
Eyebot-generated prescriptions are finalized by teledoctors within 24 hours, and consumers looking to buy glasses from any retailer must pay $30 for an exam. But if they buy glasses from one of Eyebot’s partner brands, the vision test is free. The technology is registered with the FDA, Hofmann said.
The company hopes that major eyewear brands will rent Eyebot terminals and place them in their retail locations of choice. Once the shopper has completed their examination, 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 receiving a commission on each sale.
“Retailers are looking for new channels to reach customers,” Hofmann said. “Now they have the opportunity to showcase their brand at CVS, Walgreens, Stop and Shop, Kroger and on college campuses.”
Eyebot is close to finalizing partnership agreements with several major eyeglass and contact lens retailers, Hofmann said. “It’s a very profitable model. The demand for what we do is very high.”
Demand for Eyebot’s first round of investment was also high, according to Hofmann. On Thursday, the company announced a $6 million funding round led by AlleyCorp and Ubiquity Ventures with participation from Humba Ventures, Village Global, Baukunst, Ravelinand Spacecadet.
The capital will be used to expand into other geographies.
