Eyebot

About Eyebot

Eyebot is a Boston-based health technology company, founded in 2021 by Matthias Hofmann and Jack Duan, focused on increasing access to vision care. Hofmann, the CEO, has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a background in building vision and optical startups, including experience at Harvard Medical School and EyeNetra, where he worked on smartphone-based vision exams. This prior experience highlighted the challenges in user adoption and accuracy with mobile-based solutions, leading him to develop Eyebot's proprietary kiosk technology from the ground up.

The company operates on a B2B2C model, addressing a significant market gap caused by a shortage of eye care professionals and the inconvenience of traditional eye exams. Eyebot's core product is a freestanding, self-service kiosk that provides a comprehensive vision test in approximately 90 seconds. These kiosks are strategically placed in high-traffic retail locations like malls, universities, and grocery chains through partnerships with companies such as Zenni Optical and Simon Malls. The vision test is offered to consumers for free, a cost subsidized by the retail partner. The business generates revenue by charging a fee of approximately $20-$30 for a prescription and by leasing the kiosks to its retail partners.

The Eyebot kiosk utilizes a suite of technologies, including a contactless scanner using safe infrared light, to measure visual acuity, refraction, and lensometry (scanning existing glasses). The process is designed to be intuitive, requiring users to simply stand and look at a screen. The collected data is then securely sent to a network of remote, licensed eye doctors who review the results and, if appropriate, issue a verified prescription via email within about 24 hours. The system is built to ensure clinical oversight, flagging any unusual results and referring those patients to in-person care. This approach allows one kiosk to perform over 300 sessions per day, a significant increase compared to a traditional exam lane.

Eyebot has secured significant financial backing to fuel its expansion, including a $6 million seed round in June 2024 and a $20 million Series A round in August 2025, led by General Catalyst. The company is also a participant in the National Science Foundation's I-Corps program. Since its pilot phase, Eyebot has delivered tens of thousands of vision tests and plans to use its funding to deploy hundreds of new kiosks, scale its clinical and engineering teams, and deepen its engagement with eye care professionals.