Xpanceo Secures $250M Series-A to Transform Vision with XR Contact Lenses

Malaz Madani

Last updated 8-07-2025

3 min

Xpanceo, a UAE startup, raised $250 million in Series-A funding for innovative tech.

The company aims to develop XR contact lenses with features like night vision and health monitoring.

Faced with challenges, funds will help perfect prototypes, targeting clinical trials by 2026.

Founded by Russian and Ukrainian partners, it's a testament to entrepreneurship's borderless spirit.

The UAE continues to be a hub for ambitious tech projects and visionary innovation.

If there's one thing we at Arageek appreciate, it's a startup that's not afraid to dream big—and, believe it or not, UAE-based Xpanceo certainly ticks that box. The company has managed to raise a whopping $250 million in its latest Series-A funding round. Looks like they're definitely not playing around!

At the helm was Opportunity Venture (Asia) Ltd., a major investor backing this innovative firm—and putting Xpanceo's current valuation at an eye-watering $1.35 billion. Not bad at all for a startup founded just four years ago.

Now, what's all the fuss about, you might ask? Well… imagine popping a pair of contact lenses into your eyes and suddenly having night vision, zoom-in capabilities, and real-time health monitoring. Sounds brilliant, doesn’t it? That’s exactly what Xpanceo is working on: a type of wearable tech called Extended Reality (XR), which could one day replace smartphones, watches, and health trackers—all through a lens you pop onto your eyeball. Science fiction becoming reality; spot on.

Of course, the road ahead won't be free from obstacles—I reckon miniaturising complex technology to fit comfortably in your eyes will be a bit of a faff, to say the least. And let's be honest, power supply issues could trip them up too. But if successful, we'll likely be looking at a genuine game-changer.

Xpanceo is planning to direct its newly gathered funds towards perfecting prototypes, with aims to have a model set for clinical trials by the end of 2026. Ambitious, definitely—but with Opportunity Venture having previously forked out an additional $40 million in seed funding back in 2023, investors seem confident they're onto something.

Interesting fact: this isn't just another quick cash grab. Xpanceo's been founded by Russian entrepreneur Roman Axelrod and Ukrainian scientist Valentin Volkov in 2021. Quite an intriguing partnership, considering their respective origins—proof, maybe, that entrepreneurship is genuinely borderless in spirit.

All in all, it’s exciting to see this kind of visionary project coming out of the Middle East, especially the UAE—well-known for pushing innovation boundaries and creating a hub for ambitious tech. It’s also exactly the kind of inspiring news we love to highlight here at Arageek—cheers to all entrepreneurs aiming for the moon (and maybe even beyond).

Mind you, we'll definitely be keping an eye (pun absolutey intended) on Xpanceo as they develop further.

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