Eyebot Raises $20 Million Series A Led by General Catalyst to Expand Access to Vision Care

New funding will support partnerships, product innovation, and team growth across the U.S.

BOSTON, Aug. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eyebot, the company behind the 90-second vision test kiosk that delivers doctor-verified glasses prescriptions, today announced it has raised $20 million in Series A funding. The round was led by General Catalyst, with participation from returning investors AlleyCorp, Baukunst, Village Global, and Ubiquity Ventures.

Eyebot is redefining how people access vision care by eliminating traditional barriers like appointment delays, insurance hurdles, and inaccessibility. Its kiosks—currently in malls, universities, retail stores, and grocery chains—provide a free, 90-second vision test that can also generate a glasses prescription reviewed and verified by licensed eye doctors.

With this new round of funding, Eyebot will expand across hundreds of new retail locations, scale its clinical and engineering teams, and deepen its engagement with eye care professionals.

"Clear vision shouldn't require months of waiting, high costs, or geographic luck," said Matthias Hofmann, co-founder and CEO of Eyebot. "This funding will help us accelerate our expansion, strengthen our clinical partnerships, and bring accessible vision care to millions more people."

From Pilot to National Scale

Since its seed round last year, Eyebot has completed over 45,000 free vision tests and is on track to deliver over half a million annually.

Eyebot is focused on enhancing the in-person optical journey, demonstrating that convenient, high-quality experiences can exist anywhere. With several major launches planned alongside leading retail partners and private practices, including high-profile announcements later this year, the company is set to drive nationwide adoption.

A Clinically-Sound, Doctor-Led Approach

Make no mistake though—Eyebot isn't replacing eye doctors—it's working with them. Eyebot aims to support eye care professionals by offering doctors new ways to scale their impact, reach untapped patients, and deliver prescriptions safely through a tech-enabled platform grounded in clinical oversight.

Every vision test is reviewed by a licensed doctor. Eyebot has tested more than 2,500 patients in IRB-approved studies, proving its accuracy matches traditional in-person exams. Eyebot's doctor-reviewed prescriptions have shown to have higher satisfaction scores than the industry average.

To continue strengthening its clinical oversight as it scales, Eyebot has formed a Clinical Advisory Board, led by Eyebot Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Alexander Martin, that includes leaders from both optometry and ophthalmology.

Solving the Real Access Gap

In the US alone, more than 3 million people have vision impairment, and an additional 8 million more have vision impairment from uncorrected refractive error, such as nearsightedness^1,2.

Millions of Americans skip care due to cost, inconvenience, or lack of nearby eye doctors. Eyebot helps fill that gap by unlocking access to high quality vision screenings in locations people already frequent such as malls, pharmacies, grocery stores, and schools.

"Wider access to high quality eye screenings will lead to more doctor visits, which in turn will allow for earlier detection of diseases and save sight", said Eyebot's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Martin.

The Eyebot kiosks also allow emerging and online eyewear retailers to open physical storefronts with a fraction of the footprint needed today—creating new models for delivering care and driving retail efficiency. At the same time, Eyebot allows established brick-and-mortar retailers to expand their capacity for vision testing by embedding Eyebot into the places people already shop.

"We invested in Eyebot because they've built something simple, scalable, and incredibly impactful," said Caitlin Donovan, Partner at General Catalyst. "They're tackling a real access challenge in healthcare and doing it in a way that supports clinicians, retailers, and consumers alike."

About Eyebot

Eyebot is transforming how people access vision care. Its 90-second vision test helps patients get the prescriptions they need—fast, affordably, and without the need for insurance or appointments. Every test is reviewed by a licensed eye doctor to ensure accuracy and clinical oversight. With a mission to make vision care accessible to everyone, equally, at the touch of a button, Eyebot is pioneering a new future for vision care.

About General Catalyst

General Catalyst is a global investment and transformation company that partners with the world's most ambitious entrepreneurs to drive resilience and applied AI.

We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond.

With offices in San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Berlin, Bangalore, and London, we have supported the growth of 800+ businesses, including Airbnb, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Commure, Glean, Guild, Gusto, Helsing, Hubspot, Kayak, Livongo, Mistral, Ramp, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, Sword, and Zepto.

For more: www.generalcatalyst.com, @generalcatalyst

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References

1. Varma R, Vajaranant TS, Burkemper B, et al. Visual impairment and blindness in adults in the United States: demographic and geographic variations from 2015 to 2050. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;134(7):802-809. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2016.1284
2. Vitale S, Cotch MF, Sperduto RD. Prevalence of visual impairment in the United States. JAMA. 2006 May 10;295(18):2158-63. doi: 10.1001/jama.295.18.2158. PMID: 16684986.

SOURCE Eyebot