Optobionics

Glen Ellyn, United States Founded: 1990 • Age: 36 yrs
A device to stimulate damaged retinal cells

About Optobionics

Optobionics is a Healthcare company based in Glen Ellyn (United States) founded in 1990. A device to stimulate damaged retinal cells. Optobionics has raised $24.4 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Medtronic, Arch Venture Partners and Advanced Technology Ventures. Optobionics offers products and services including Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) implants. Its focus areas include Life Sciences, Ophthalmology, Medical Devices and Therapy. Its legal entity is Optobionics Corporation. Its competitors include Kodiak Sciences, Second Sight and iScience Interventional; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.

Company details

Optobionics was founded in 1990 in Glen Ellyn, United States, within the medical device sector focused on retinal implants. An Artificial Silicon Retina microchip, measuring 2 mm in diameter and 25 microns thick with about 5,000 microscopic solar cells, was developed to stimulate damaged retinal cells internally. Visual signals are recreated by these cells and sent to the brain. Operations appear to have ceased, rendering the company non-operational.

  • Headquarters Glen Ellyn, United States
  • Sectors
    Healthcare
  • Phone
    β€’β€’β€’β€’ β€’β€’β€’β€’
  • Website optobionics.com
  • Legal Name Optobionics Corporation
Operational Areas
Key Metrics
  • Total Equity Funding
    $24.4M (USD)

    in 3 rounds

  • Latest Funding Round
    $20M (USD), Series B

    Dec 2001

  • Investors
    Medtronic

    & 4 more

Products & Services of Optobionics

Optobionics offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) implants.

Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) implants
Medical Device

Implants designed to stimulate retina for treating Retinitis Pigmentosa vision loss.

Funding Insights of Optobionics

Optobionics has successfully raised a total of $24.4M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series B round of $20 million completed in December 2001. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.

  • Total Funding $24.4M
  • Total Rounds 3
  • Last Round Series B β€” $20M
  • First Round $750,000

    (Jun 1997)

  • Investors Count 5

All 3 funding rounds of Optobionics with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.

DateAmountTransaction NameValuationLead InvestorsInvestors
Dec 2001$20MSeries B––
Jun 2000$4.4MSeries A–Alcon
Jun 1997$750,000Unspecified––
Valuation history

5 investors in total: 5 institutional.

Investors in Optobionics

Optobionics has secured backing from 5 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Medtronic, Arch Venture Partners and Advanced Technology Ventures.

All
Venture Fund
Institutional
InvestorDescriptionFounded YearDomainLocation
VC firm making investment in early stage startups in the US
atvcapital.comMenlo Park, United States
Venture capital firm focused on life science companies
1986archventure.comChicago, United States
US focused venture capital firm
polarispartners.comBoston, United States
Medical equipment for treating over 30 chronic diseases is developed.
1949medtronic.comMinneapolis, United States
cibavision.com
Premium access

Investor details for Optobionics

The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.

  • Complete investor list
  • Round participation
  • Investor portfolios
  • Co-investor network

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Timeline of Optobionics

3 dated milestones of Optobionics across 11 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.

  1. Founded Optobionics is founded.
  2. Funding First funding round of $750K.
  3. Funding Latest funding round, Series B, of $20.0M.

Competitors of Optobionics

Optobionics has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Kodiak Sciences, Second Sight and iScience Interventional.

Company NameDomainFoundedHQ LocationTotal fundingEmployeesDescription
kodiak.com2009Palo Alto, United States$35.84M112
Therapeutics for retinal diseases are developed by the company.
secondsight.com2000Los Angeles, United States$52.3M14
Implantable visual prosthetics for blind individuals are developed and provided.
iscienceinterventional.com1999Menlo Park, United States$36.68M
Microcatheter and imaging technologies for ophthalmic procedures are developed.
Premium access

Detailed competitors of Optobionics

The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.

  • Full competitor set
  • Operating metrics
  • Benchmarks
  • Competitive positioning

Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.

Top companies in Ophthalmology

3 companies that operate in the same segment as Optobionics (Ophthalmology) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.

CompanyDescriptionFoundedLocationTotal fundingRevenueEmployees
Developer of a wide range of eye care products
1945Fort Worth, Texas, United StatesUSD 171.61 MUSD 9.64 B25,600
Genetic medicines are developed by 4DMT for transformative therapies.
2013Emeryville, California, United StatesUSD 186.59 MUSD 85.21 M227
Developer of antibodies to treat complement-mediated neurodegenerative diseases
2011San Francisco, California, United StatesUSD 256 M100
Upgrade to premium

Unlock complete access to The Company Check

Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track β€” from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.

Upgrade to Premium No viewing limits. Your plan controls exports and screening usage.
Included in your Premium account
  • βœ“
    Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
  • βœ“
    Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
  • βœ“
    Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal

Frequently Asked Questions about Optobionics

Optobionics was founded in 1990 and raised its 1st funding round 7 years after it was founded.

Optobionics is headquartered in Glen Ellyn, United States. It is registered at Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States.

Optobionics is a funded company, having raised a total of $24.4M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Unspecified of $750K, raised on Jun 1997.

Optobionics was founded in 1990 in Glen Ellyn, United States, within the medical device sector focused on retinal implants. An Artificial Silicon Retina microchip, measuring 2 mm in diameter and 25 microns thick with about 5,000 microscopic solar cells, was developed to stimulate damaged retinal cells internally. Visual signals are recreated by these cells and sent to the brain. Operations appear to have ceased, rendering the company non-operational.

Optobionics's top competitors include Kodiak Sciences, Second Sight and iScience Interventional.

Optobionics offers Artificial Silicon Retina (ASR) implants.

Optobionics has 5 investors. Key investors include Medtronic, Arch Venture Partners, Advanced Technology Ventures, Polaris Partners, and Alcon.

Optobionics operates through Optobionics Corporation.

Explore millions of companies β€” effortlessly

Access structured, verified intelligence on 7M+ companies across industries, sectors, and global markets. From early-stage startups to large enterprises, discover ownership, leadership, funding, financials, acquisitions, and market signals β€” all in one powerful platform.

Free account with essential features Instant access to company reports Enterprise solutions available