People all over the world now spend hours a day on their smartphones. On average, the daily use of smartphones exceeds three hours, and for adults, the total screen time increases to six hours or more, according to research. This constant close screen exposure has been linked to a growing list of eye health problems, including dry and irritated eyes, eye fatigue, blurred vision, headaches, and worsening nearsightedness, each report.
EdenluxThe startup, headquartered in South Korea, has developed technology to address eye and ear health problems caused by a screen-heavy digital lifestyle.
The company’s mission is personal. Founder and CEO of Edenlux, Sungyong Park, knows what it feels like to lose control of your eyes. While serving as a military doctor, Park received muscle relaxant injections for severe neck stiffness. This causes a rare side effect: temporary paralysis of the eye muscles responsible for focusing. The doctor told me there was nothing to do but wait.
Park didn’t wait. He imported special ophthalmic equipment and began to retrain his eye muscles. Over time, his vision gradually returned. That experience changed our understanding of eye health, leading Park, a medical doctor turned entrepreneur, to develop technology to help people protect and restore vision in a harsh world.
Now, Edenlux is getting ready to launch its second health device, Eyeary, an everyday visual recovery tool aimed at the US market, with an Indiegogo launch planned for the end of March. Unlike medical devices, Edenlux products fall in the FDA health categoryso that it can be described for vision training and general eye health. (The company chose to launch on Indiegogo rather than seek investor funding, Park said, citing sufficient cash reserves to support operations for several years.)
The company’s first product, Otus, will launch in 2022 in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan. The bulky VR-style device uses a lens to contract and relax the ciliary muscles. Otus has generated $10 million in cumulative revenue, and Edenlux says Eyeary is designed to be faster and easier to use.
“With Otus, users usually take about 12 months to reduce their dependence on reading glasses. Eyeary can shorten that to about six months,” Park said.
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Eyeary is also a design leap, he added. It looks like normal glasses, lighter and more comfortable and the lens system includes 144 diopter focus points, allowing better focus adjustment and more precise eye muscle training. (Otus has five diopter focus points) The device pairs with a mobile app via Bluetooth, collects usage data and feeds it to the Edenlux server. The company analyzes data sets on age, gender, and vision profiles, using AI to predict improvement timelines and manage training programs.
Prolonged screen time can damage the ciliary muscles, which control the lens inside the eye. “When people are young, their muscles are strong enough to focus,” Park said. “But the continuous use of the smartphone keeps it contracted, and over time, it can weaken, causing fatigue and vision problems.”
Edenlux has developed a range of products targeting specific eye conditions, including Otus and Eyeary for visual recovery, Tearmore for dry eyes, Lux-S for strabismus, Lumia for myopia prevention, and Heary for hearing recovery. Tearmore, Lux-S, Lumia, and Heary are expected to launch in Asia, Park said.
Park sees companies like Oura Ring as friends. Both collect human data and provide insights through software, in a subscription model. But while Oura focuses on heart rate and sleep, Edenlux targets vision and hearing health.
The target customers include all individuals who regularly use smartphones and earphones. “We aim to address the root cause of eye and hearing problems from excessive digital devices,” Park said.
Edenlux raised $39 million in a Series A round in 2020 and $60 million in Series B funding in 2022. The company recently created a US subsidiary in Dallas, Texas, where the device will undergo final assembly.
While Edenlux is currently developing and manufacturing in-house, it is exploring partnerships with major technology companies like Apple or Samsung, aiming to integrate vision-protecting technology with smartphones.
Combining first-hand insights, cutting-edge science, and hardware devices, Edenlux believes that eye health in the digital age is more than a health trend – it’s an emerging area in consumer technology.