IXI is developing invisibly‑smart prescription eyewear that uses a small frame‑mounted device to track the wearer’s eyes and drive liquid crystal lenses to auto-focus for presbyopia. The glasses are designed to be low‑power with an estimated battery life of about two days; the lenses also include a near‑sighted prescription so wearers retain distance vision if the battery dies. IXI has filed and applied for multiple patents around its technology and declined to share detailed technical specifics in public. The company says its technology has been proven in labs and plans to show a prototype later this year, but it has not disclosed a market launch date or regulatory timeline. IXI’s team includes founders Niko Eiden and Ville Miettinen and many engineers who previously worked on mobile and mixed‑reality technology at Nokia and Varjo. The company argues the addressable eyewear market is large — cited estimates put it at over $200 billion and growing faster than smartwatches and smartphones. Pixieray is developing adaptive eyeglasses that continuously adjust focal point and optical power so wearers get optimal vision for whatever they are looking at, reducing eye strain versus fixed multifocal lenses. The company has a working prototype and says the product will not resemble VR or AR headsets. Pixieray plans to ship its first product in 2023 and expects to expand the team to about 10 people, hiring in the Helsinki region. The glasses can be adjusted by the wearer over time to match vision changes and significantly increase the clear field of view compared to multifocal lenses. Pixieray intends to partner with a manufacturer for production but will refine the technology beforehand. The founders include CEO Niko Eiden, COO Rebecca Xu, CTO Klaus Melakari and chief algorithm officer Ville Miettinen, with adviser Jocelyn Faubert; Eiden previously worked at Microsoft, Varjo, and CERN.

Total raised

$41M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Apr 2025