Bascom Palmer Eye Institute’s spinout is working on AR/VR vision diagnosis and augmentation technology and has secured more cash five months after its seed funding.
Heru, a US-based eyesight diagnostics technology developer spun out of Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, has secured $30m in a series A round led by investment firm D1 Capital Partners.
Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s SB Opportunity Fund, venture capital firm Krillion Ventures and angel investors including Maurice Ferre and Frederic Moll filled out the round.
Founded in 2018, Heru has built artificial intelligence-infused autonomous vision diagnosis and correction software designed to be used with augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) head-mounted displays.
Eduardo Alfonso, professor and chairman at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, said: “Heru’s technology was developed through decades of research, innovation and clinical validation within the accelerator program at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the number one eye hospital in the US.
“The full technology suite, which is licensed exclusively and perpetually to Heru by the institute, improves the quality of life for people with visual defects.”
The fresh funding came in the wake of the company’s registration with US Food and Drug Administration and a $2.7m seed round in December 2020 co-led by Maurice Ferre and Frederic Moll featuring unnamed additional backers.
