What will change everything: They develop virtual reality contact lenses with zoom and night vision.

Startup Xpanceo is developing extended reality contact lenses with night vision, zoom capabilities, and real-time health monitoring, thanks to a funding round led by Opportunity Venture, with which it has raised $250 million (around €213 million).

The company was founded in 2021 by Russian entrepreneur Roman Axelrod and Ukrainian scientist Valentyn Nolkov, and during their visit to this year's Mobile World Congress they already offered contact lenses capable of focusing sharper images by being glued to the curvature of the eye , compared to other devices such as glasses.

Now, Xpaneo aims to further its project to develop contact lenses that offer night vision, zoom capabilities, and real-time health monitoring.

In this way, the firm aims to replace the functions of personal devices with contact lenses, and already has several prototype lenses, so its goal is to have a model ready for clinical trials by the end of 2026, as reported by Bloomberg in an article cited by the company itself in a publication by X.

Xpanceo has been funded with more than €200 million by Opportunity Venture, and has been valued by the investment firm at $1.35 billion (approximately €1.15 billion), the Dubai-based startup said Tuesday.

"This historic round validates what we've believed since day one: the world is ready for a radical leap beyond screens," the firm stated in its post on the social network, which noted that the big tech companies are still wearing glasses, while Xpanceo is "developing the future."

Meta recently unveiled a new model of smart glasses with Oakley that captures video, plays music, sends messages, and allows interaction with the Meta AI assistant in a design designed for athletes. Apple is also in the running, planning to launch its first pair of glasses by the end of 2026, according to Bloomberg. Xpanceo's project goes further and promises to leave all these solutions behind.