Innovega has developed a new generation of patented Contact Lenses that enable wearers to experience rich digital media experiences from stylish, lightweight Glasses.
LifeSci
Innovega
Meet Innovega
Innovega has developed a new generation of patented and disposable Contact Lenses that enable wearers to experience unprecedented media experiences from Stylish, Lightweight Glasses. Alternatives include uncomfortable and anti-social VR "head-mount displays" and Google Glass-style "postage-stamp-size displays". By not delivering what wearers need and want, more than 10 companies have already failed. While Innovega eyewear system has been designed to be attractive for future mass-markets, management have opted to launch first to serve patients whose needs are well-defined, but have been unmet.
Why is your company the best option to solve the problem you're solving?
As an example, in N America there are more than 5 million visually impaired and legally blind who have lost a good deal of their independence and usual lifestyle. These patients need lightweight glasses with an integrated camera that deliver ultra-high magnification of their surroundings - both near at hand and at a distance. Present solutions include "VR boxes with cameras" or headsets / goggles whose performance is limited and that immediately defines the wearer as suffering from an impairment, rather than enjoying a normal lifestyle. Innovega's go-to-market plan includes delivery of this high social impact solutions.
What nuggets of info make you interesting? Why do people care about what you're doing?
High social impact: We will restore independence and normal lifestyles to a market of tens of millions of patients who struggle with vision and other impairments New generation of Smart Contact Lenses; Innovega's team have filed hundreds of patents during their career and have filed 40 patents that cover design, fabrication, and integration of the Innovega system of lenses and display glasses. San Diego has a rich history of fostering medical technologies and life-sciences. We seek to accelerate growth of our labs, development of lifetime careers for our staff, and exceptional returns to our loyal and passionate shareholders.
What else do you want us to know?
Our contact lenses include each wearer's vision prescription, but in addition 25x magnification of a microdisplay located inside eyewear that appears no different than conventional glasses. This same magnification enables interesting inspection of insects and other scary creatures whose features would otherwise be beyond the capabilities of normal human vision ...
BEHIND THE COMPANY
CEO/Founder: Steve Willey
What is your company's secret sauce?
40 Filed patents, hundreds of trade-secrets ... and a radical solution to "the VR/AR eyewear problem" that the entire industry has recognized for almost a decade, yet even today has failed to solve.
What inspired you to start/run this company?
I look for emerging market opportunities that would scale and offer enormous value to human-kind IF a focused and talented team could deliver solutions to seemingly impossible problems
What's the best entrepreneurial advice you've received?
If you are wrong, admit it and fail fast!
What's the worst entrepreneurial advice you've received?
Be persistent!
What sets your company culture apart?
Unlike others who have raised considerable funds (and lost more than $1B over the past 18 months), the Innovega team has defined for itself a manageable and achievable plan. To take a "road less traveled" requires courage and commitment from all members of staff. This forms the core of our culture.
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