July 9, 2025 — XPANCEO, a deep tech company developing smart contact lenses for extended reality (XR) computing, has announced the close of a USD $250 million Series A funding round at a USD $1.35 billion valuation, officially achieving unicorn status.
According to XPANCEO, the funding will support the company’s efforts to launch what it describes as the world’s first all-in-one smart contact lens, combining XR, real-time health monitoring, night vision, and zoom functionality into a single wearable device.
“There’s broad consensus across Big Tech that AI-powered wearable XR is the future. Yet, major players have only recently begun building glasses and headsets, so our smart lens technology puts us at least five years ahead,” said Roman Axelrod, founder and Managing Partner at XPANCEO. “Becoming a unicorn is a powerful signal that we’re on the right path.”
The round was led by Opportunity Venture (Asia), which also led XPANCEO’s USD $40 million seed round. The new capital will be used to advance development, grow the company’s R&D, product, design, and operations teams, and accelerate its path to market.
“We see XPANCEO as a once-in-a-generation project,” said Philip Ma, Managing Director of Opportunity Venture (Asia). “They’re not just building a product, they’re rewriting the rules of personal tech. We backed them early because we saw the boldness of their vision.”
Since its previous funding round in 2023, XPANCEO has developed 15 working prototypes, including lenses for: AR vision; intraocular pressure sensing for glaucoma monitoring; biochemical sensing of health markers such as glucose; real-time wireless charging; night vision; color correction; and 3D imaging.
“To build something this ambitious, we had to push the boundaries of science itself,” said Dr. Valentyn S. Volkov, Founder and Scientific Partner at XPANCEO.
The company has published 110 scientific papers and collaborates with institutions such as the University of Manchester, the National University of Singapore, Donostia International Physics Center, and the University of Dubai.
“With this funding, XPANCEO is poised to lead the post-smartphone era and redefine the personal computing landscape,” added Ma.
To learn more about XPANCEO and its smart contact lens solutions, click here.
Image / video credit: XPANCEO
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.