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276 Setting Sights High: Equity and Accessibility in Vision Care with Matthias Hofmann, Co-founder & CEO of Eyebot; Boston, MA, USA
We love speaking with MedTech founders and so we were excited to have Matthias Hofmann, the co-founder and CEO of Eyebot join us to explain how his team is transforming the way we receive vision care.
Before this interview, we had no idea that 25% of US counties lack a practicing eye care provider. We also hadn’t thought about the increasing shortage of vision care providers or that our screen-obsessed society is generating a higher per capita need for corrective eye care. And for many, the cost of vision appointments and glasses are so expensive that they forgo this critical pillar of health care. Today, the Eyebot team is hoping to address the healthcare deserts in the U.S. and work with organizations like WHO and others, their technology can make a difference globally.
Here are the highlights of our discussion:
- Embrace Dynamism: Startups are incredibly dynamic. Project plans can quickly become obsolete, and flexibility is key to navigating this unpredictability. While the first vision care focused startup Matthias worked on had hurdles it could not overcome, that foundation led the way to take up the challenge again once the technology had advanced.
- Overcoming Barriers and Scaling: Eyebot addresses the doctor shortage problem by integrating technology into eyeglass retailers and online stores, expanding first in the New England area, California, and other U.S. states.
- Self-Serve Vision Centers: Eyebot's kiosks provide self-serve vision tests using infrared light, making it easy for anyone to check their eyes without prior knowledge or instructions.
- Immediate Results and Doctor Referrals: The vision tests take about 90 seconds and can detect over 30 different eye disorders. Once an individual completes the vision test, they use a well-tested framework for telemedicine to ensure compliance and effectiveness and to deliver prescriptions and analysis. While technology can enhance accessibility, routine comprehensive eye exams by human doctors remain crucial.
Matthias Hofmann is the Co-founder & CEO of Eyebot, an outcome-focused technology company where tech innovation meets vision care. Founded in 2021, Eyebot is on a mission to make eye care more accessible for everyone - at the touch of a button. What used to take days or weeks can now be accomplished in minutes. Eyebot has been backed by leading deep tech VCs and the U.S. government's National Science Foundation via the SBIR program and in 2024, raised $6M in a seed round to propel their expansion.
Matthias holds significant experience in new technology development, Medtech, startups, and securing capital through prior leadership roles such as Director & Product Development at Lumicell, Team Lead at Formlabs, R&D Lead at EyeNetra, and postdoc work at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. Matthias attended Virginia Tech where he accentuated his engineering degree with a Ph.D. in philosophy.
Connect with Matthias
Website: https://www.eyebot.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mchofmann/
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