Visionary Ventures Fund
620 Newport Center Drive, Suite 650, Newport Beach, CA, 92660, United States
Overview
Visionary is a venture capital firm that invests in the most promising emerging ophthalmology companies in medical devices and pharmaceuticals. With many breakthrough ophthalmic technologies and platforms on the horizon, Visionary Venture Fund was created to help these companies by contributing clinical expertise, commercialization know-how, and growth capital. We work hand-in-hand with today's most promising ophthalmic technologies to create tomorrow's commercial blockbusters. We're looking for visionary entrepreneurs, proven teams, and strong IP to create exciting ideas that address large unmet needs in ophthalmology in order to create market-leading businesses. We are a focused venture capital fund from round A to commercialization. Our target investments range from $500K to $5M in financing rounds ranging from $5M to $15MM. We seek to be lead investors and a partner of choice in our deals as we bring a strong KOL doctor partnership to the table. Visionary’s fund performance net of fees is a 30% IIR, which places it in the top decile of US venture funds.
- Total investments
- 4
- Lead investments
- 3
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 3
Investment portfolio
- Recce
Participated · Seed · Apr 2025
Recce brings data validation best practices natively into code review to help data-driven organizations ensure the stability and accuracy of critical data transformation projects and complex AI systems. Led by CEO and founder CL Kao, the product originated as an open-source project and now also offers a cloud platform for cross-team collaboration. The platform embeds data validation into the software lifecycle to surface issues during code review. Recce plans to use newly raised funds to expand operations and accelerate development efforts. Its open-source project sees about 3,600 downloads per week on GitHub, with users including The Philadelphia Inquirer, telecom companies, healthcare tech startups and government entities in Brazil and Australia.
- Tear Film Innovations
Led · Series B · May 2018
Tear Film Innovations (TFI) manufactures the iLux system, an in-office device that provides targeted therapy to blocked meibomian glands for evaporative dry eye and related syndromes. The iLux received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in December 2017 and was unveiled to ophthalmologists and optometrists in 2018. TFI announced it completed an $8.5 million Series B Preferred Stock financing to support its growth strategy. Management said the financing "completes the capitalization for our growth strategy" and the company is making key hires to meet significant market demand for the iLux system. The company is actively commercializing the device to both the ophthalmic and optometric sectors. TFI positions the iLux as a significant new dry-eye treatment option in eye care. Tear Film Innovations (TFI) is an early-stage company developing products to treat evaporative dry eye, including Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and blepharitis. Its flagship product, the iLux® system, is an investigational in‑office device that treats blocked meibomian glands through targeted heating and compression of the eyelids. TFI recently completed a multi-site clinical study demonstrating the system's safety and efficacy, and the iLux is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company completed a $9 million Series A Preferred Stock financing to advance regulatory approvals and commercialization. Investors provide both capital and clinical support—Visionary Ventures Fund and Tigris Ventures led the round and Visionary's affiliated doctors are cited as key opinion leaders. Management stated the funding will help move the product toward commercialization in a U.S. market with more than 25 million dry eye patients.
- TearClear
Led · Series A · May 2017
TearClear is a Boston, MA-based ophthalmic pharmaceutical company advancing multiple clinical programs, with two lead candidates targeting glaucoma. The company plans to use new funding to advance those clinical programs and pursue future indications. TearClear is led by Chief Executive Officer Robert Dempsey. It recently appointed Stuart Raetzman, formerly CEO of Galderma, to its board of directors. The announcement emphasizes progress across its glaucoma candidates as the near-term clinical focus. TearClear is an Orange County, California-based eye health technology company developing a delivery system to enable preservative-free topical ophthalmic drugs from existing preserved, multi-dose systems. The company's technology targets drugs used to treat chronic ophthalmic diseases where benzalkonium chloride (BAK) is commonly used to assure sterility. TearClear aims to address the global market for ophthalmologic drugs, including treatments for glaucoma, over-the-counter dry eye, and allergic conjunctivitis. Leadership includes CEO Kevin Hershfield, Chairman Rick Heinick, Chief Science & Technology Officer Richard D’Souza, Head of Clinical Development Howard Golub, and inventor Anuj Chauhan. The company raised $4.5M in Series A financing and plans to use the proceeds to advance development of its delivery system for preservative-free ophthalmic drugs. William Link, PhD, with executive and investment expertise in ophthalmology, was appointed to the board of directors as part of the financing.