People around the world now spend hours a day on their smartphones. On average, daily smartphone use exceeds three hours, and for many adults, total screen time rises to six or more hours, according to research. This constant close-up screen exposure has been linked to a growing list of eye health problems, including dry and irritated eyes, eye fatigue, blurred vision, headaches and worsening myopia, per exhibitions.
Edenluxa South Korea-based startup, has developed technology to address eye and ear health issues caused by a screen-heavy digital lifestyle.
The company’s mission is personal. Edenlux founder and CEO Sungyong Park knows firsthand what it’s like to lose control of your vision. While serving as an army medic, Park received a muscle relaxant injection for severe neck stiffness. It caused a rare side effect: temporary paralysis of the eye muscles responsible for focusing. Doctors told him there was not much he could do but wait.
Park didn’t wait. He imported specialized eye equipment and began training his eye muscles himself. Over time, his vision gradually returned. This experience reshaped his understanding of eye health, leading Park, a physician-turned-entrepreneur, to develop technology to help people protect and restore their vision in a screen-filled world.
Now, Edenlux is preparing to launch its second wellness device, the Eyeary, an everyday visual recovery tool aimed at the US market, with an Indiegogo launch planned for around the end of March. Unlike medical devices, Edenlux products fall in the FDA’s wellness categoryallowing them to be described for vision training and general eye health. (The company chose to launch on Indiegogo rather than seek investor funding, Park said, citing sufficient cash reserves to support operations for several years.)
The company’s first product, Otus, was launched in 2022 in South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Taiwan. The bulky VR-style device uses lenses to contract and relax the ciliary muscle. Otus has generated $10 million in cumulative revenue, and Edenlux says Eyeary is designed to be faster and easier to use.
“With Otus, it typically took users about 12 months to reduce their dependence on reading glasses. Eyeary could shorten that to about six months,” Park claimed.
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Eyeary is also a design leap, he added. It looks like regular glasses, is lighter and more comfortable, and the lens system includes 144 focal points, allowing for finer focus adjustments and more precise eye muscle training. (The Otus has five diopter focal points.) The device connects to a mobile app via Bluetooth, collecting usage data and feeding it to Edenlux’s servers. The company analyzes data sets into age, gender and vision profiles, using artificial intelligence to predict improvement timelines and tailor training programs.
Prolonged screen time can overstress the ciliary muscle, which controls the lens inside the eye. “When people are young, the muscle is strong enough to focus,” Park said. “But constant smartphone use keeps it in contraction, and over time it can weaken, leading to fatigue and vision problems.”
Edenlux has developed a range of products targeting specific eye conditions, including Otus and Eyeary for visual recovery, Tearmore for dry eye, Lux-S for strabismus, Lumia for myopia prevention and Heary for auditory rehabilitation. Tearmore, Lux-S, Lumia and Heary are expected to launch in Asia, Park said.
Park sees companies like Oura Ring as peers. Both collect human data and provide information through software, in a subscription model. But while Oura focuses on heart rate and sleep, Edenlux targets vision and hearing health.
Its target customers include all people who regularly use smartphones and headphones. “Our goal is to address the root causes of eye and hearing problems from excessive use of digital devices,” said Park.
Edenlux raised $39 million in Series A funding in 2020 and $60 million in Series B funding in 2022. The company recently established a US subsidiary in Dallas, Texas, where its devices will undergo final assembly.
While Edenlux currently develops and manufactures in-house, it is exploring partnerships with major technology companies such as Apple or Samsung, with the aim of integrating vision protection technology with smartphones.
Combining first-hand insight, advanced science and hardware devices, Edenlux believes that eye health in the digital age is more than just a wellness trend — it’s an emerging area in consumer technology.
