.lumen raises €5m for smart glasses for the blind
Romanian startup .lumen has launched a €5m funding round, with €1 million available on crowd-sourcing site SeedBlink.
.lumen has already raised €4m from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and Venture to Future Funds to replicate the main features of a guide dog using autonomous driving technology in smart glasses for the blind.
Last year, €500 million was spent to train just 2,000 guide dogs, and there are only 28,000 guide dogs worldwide.
.lumen’s first product, the Glasses replicates the commands form a guide dog. For example if a guide dog works by pulling one’s hand, the .lumen device does this with its proprietary haptic interface, which “pulls” the user’s head. This technology has been tested by over 300 blind individuals from almost 30 countries.
The underlying technology in the Glasses is Pedestrian Autonomous Driving AI (PAD AI), which is a general level self-driving software capable of revolutionizing delivery robotics, AR, or even dual-use.
.lumen’s strategic roadmap includes a limited-series launching in Q4 2024 and the USA market entry in Q4 2025. The company aims to sell 10,000 units by the end of 2026. These efforts are supported by a robust team of 50 engineers, professors, disability experts, designers, and scientists.
“Growing up in a family with disabilities, I saw firsthand how technology can transform lives and how much is still needed. I founded .lumen to help people, and on the way, I found that we can do so much more. We’re opening this round to everyone, not just institutional investors, because we want more people to be part of our story,” said Cornel Amariei, CEO and founder of .lumen.
Venture to Future Fund is making one of the few investments outside Slovakia. “We believe .lumen’s technology can profoundly transform the lives of blind individuals. Inspired by their mission and backed by an outstanding team, we’re thrilled to support a venture that promises both impactful change and impressive returns,” said Matej Říha, Chairman of the Board at VFF.
Ionut Patrahau, Managing Partner at SeedBlink, also highlighted the significance of this funding round. “We are incredibly proud to support .lumen and their dedicated team through our investor community. Their innovative work has a profound impact, improving the living experiences of those in need when the rest of society feels helpless.”
The SeedBlink round page is here
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