Will the world’s smartest contact lenses emerge in Dubai?

Will the world’s smartest contact lenses emerge in Dubai?

In a lab in Dubai, a Russian entrepreneur and a Ukrainian material scientist are working together on a project that may very well revolutionise how the world will interact with technology. Their mission: develop smart contact lenses that fuse biotechnology and electronics to unlock a realm of possibilities seen only in science fiction. 

Roman Axelrod and Valentyn Volkov founded their startup, XPANCEO, back in 2021 in Moscow to develop these smart contact lenses. But the outbreak of the war in Ukraine a year later saw both men pack up with their team and head straight to Dubai where they are continuing their research and development (R&D).

The initial idea for smart contact lenses came from Axelrod, who, after successfully exiting his AI and robotics startup in Russia, wondered what the computer of the future would look like. 

“Today, the smartphone is the most popular computer of humanity, but they are insufficient in terms of the goals humanity has set for the next 100 years,” says Axelrod who adds that smartphones are “old, outdated and simply bad. The best device is one that is invisible, weightless, and absolutely private. One infinite screen that connects all devices. So I started looking for