SARATOGA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mojo Vision, the Invisible Computing company, today announced it has raised more than $51 million in a Series B-1 investment round to propel the development of the first true smart contact lens, Mojo Lens.
This new round brings Mojo Vision’s total funding to date to more than $159 million.
Mojo Vision’s latest round of funding was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) with participation from top strategic investors and venture firms, including Gradient Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Liberty Global Ventures, Struck Capital, Dolby Family Ventures, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, Fusion Fund, Intellectus Partners, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, Numbase Group, InFocus Capital Partners, and others.
Mojo also announced that Greg Papadopoulos, PhD, venture partner at NEA, will join its board of directors. Papadopoulos and NEA co-led the seed round in Mojo Vision along with CEO and co-founder Drew Perkins.
Papadopoulos has more than 30 years of experience in the technology industry and academia. Prior to NEA, Papadopoulos was EVP and CTO of Sun Microsystems and before Sun, he was an associate professor of EECS at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has also helped found a number of companies and was an engineer with HP and Honeywell. Papadopoulos is a relentless advocate for diversity in engineering and a supporter of open development models that stimulate communication, inclusiveness and innovation.
In January, Mojo announced that it is in the process of building the world’s first true smart contact lens, called Mojo Lens. Mojo Lens is a contact lens with a built-in display that is designed to give people useful and timely information without forcing them to look down at a screen or lose focus on the people and the world around them. Mojo calls this eyes-up experience Invisible Computing, a platform that enables information to be instantaneous, unobtrusive, and available hands-free, allowing people to interact with each other more freely and genuinely.
“The unveiling of the details of our product development earlier this year has generated increased excitement and momentum around the potential of Mojo Lens,” said Perkins. “This new round of funding brings more support and capital from strategic investors and companies to help us continue our breakthrough technology development. It gets us closer to bringing the benefits of Mojo Lens to people with vision impairments, to enterprises and eventually, consumers.”
The company is planning an early application of Mojo Lens to help people who live with vision impairment. By using enhanced image overlays, this application is designed to serve as a visual aid, providing real-time contrast and scene enhancement that will make navigation, obstacle avoidance and personal interactions easier. Mojo is actively working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through its Breakthrough Devices Program, a voluntary program designed to provide safe and timely access to medical devices that can help treat irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions.
“NEA has been with Mojo since the beginning, sharing the vision to build and bring to market the first true smart contact lens,” said Papadopoulos. “The potential applications of this innovative technology could fundamentally change the way we work and view our world, as well as improve the quality of life for people with vision impairment. This is a tremendously exciting opportunity and I’m humbled to be joining the board of directors and to continue partnering with the talented team at Mojo.”
Mojo Lens is currently in the research and development phase and is not available for sale anywhere in the world.
Find Mojo Vision online at https://mojo.vision.
About Mojo Vision
Mojo Vision is the Invisible Computing company, dedicated to developing products and platforms that re-imagine the intersection of ideas, information, and people. Instead of being tethered to devices that are increasingly a distraction in many aspects of our lives, Mojo envisions delivering information and knowledge that is immediate but without the disruption of traditional devices. Mojo is inventing the future of computing – Invisible Computing – which imagines a world where information is there when you need it, technology fades away, and you can freely connect with others in a more meaningful and confident way. Founded by technology experts with decades of experience developing pioneering products and platforms and backed by some of the world’s leading technology investors, Mojo believes the future is invisible. Mojo Vision is based in Saratoga, CA.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to the technical, operational and financial benefits of Mojo Vision's solution. These statements are not guarantees of results and should not be considered as an indication of future activity or future performance. Actual results may vary materially from these expectations as a result of various risks and uncertainties.