BELLEVUE, Wash.—Innovega, the wearable technology company based here, has launched an equity crowdfunding round with New York-based SeedInvest. This is Innovega’s second round of funding with SeedInvest, following an initial round in 2018. Innovega said the new funds will allow it to accelerate commercialization, including a Phase III FDA clinical investigation for its smart contact lenses. Innovega's licensing business model allows for multiple manufacturing and distribution partners to bring its proprietary eMacula system to market, configured for various applications.

The wearable display system includes a patented disposable smart contact lens and a range of smart glasses.

Innovega’s first use case is engineered for the visually impaired and has been supported by grants from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health. “The visually impaired require a wide-field-of-view display to optimize image amplification while enjoying a useful span of content,” said Innovega co-founder Jerome A. Legerton, OD. “We are grateful for the NIH grants that allow us to progress our development, prepare for commercialization, and leverage this success in responding to unmet needs of large consumer markets.”

Innovega’s patent portfolio of 26 filed patent applications and 13 granted U.S. patents spans the company’s proprietary enhanced retina technologies, including the system of contact lenses and smart glasses and key sub-systems such as eye tracking.

The company recent received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its contact lens technology.