Xpanceo

Xpanceo (stylized in all caps) is a technology company that develops smart contact lenses for extended reality applications and health monitoring. It is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

In 2025, it became a unicorn and was valued at over US$1 billion.

History

Xpanceo was founded in 2021 by Roman Axelrod and physicist Valentyn S. Volkov.

In 2023, Xpanceo raised US$40 million in a seed funding funding round led by Hong Kong-based Opportunity Venture (Asia).

In 2024, Xpanceo demonstrated four smart contact-lens prototypes at Mobile World Congress 2024: a holographic smart lens, a biosensing lens, a nanoparticle-infused lens for enhanced vision, and a transparent-electronics lens. In July 2025, Xpanceo secured a US$250 million Series A investment, again led by Opportunity Venture (Asia), valuing it at US$1.35 billion.

In September 2025, Xpanceo formed a joint initiative with Italian medtech company Intra-Ker and announced a proof of concept for an intracorneal implant designed to restore vision in patients with corneal blindness. In December 2025, it began ground testing an augmented reality smart contact lens in collaboration with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), with the program including laboratory validation, ground-based simulations, and possible future in-ORBit testing.

Technology

Xpanceo is developing smart contact lenses intended to display digital information in the wearer’s field of view. The lenses use nanophotonics and two-dimensional materials to incorporate microelectronics into flexible contact lenses. Its medical applications include intraocular pressure monitoring and tear-based analysis of biomarkers such as glucose and cortisol.

In 2024, Xpanceo researchers worked with Kostya Novoselov to publish a research study in Nature on the properties of rhenium diselenide and rhenium disulfide.