(PRESS RELEASE) IbisVision, the Glasgow-based company that’s revolutionizing optometry through its remote eye test technology, is embarking on a £5 million fund raise drive in the US this week led by Florida-based investment company Compiler VC. IbisVision is also seeking in parallel to extend its commercial footprint in what is the world’s largest eye-care market.
The program will see Chief Executive Officer Mark Roger and Chief Commercial Officer Melville Berwick over a two-week period meet with investors with access to more than $25 billion of funding. The meetings will take place in both Florida and New York and the team will also be connecting with leading eye care providers and charities.
The fund raise is led and sponsored by Compiler which is led by Adam Wolman and Yannick Henriette. The Florida-based business was an original investor in IbisVision and among its portfolio specialises in healthcare and in particular eyecare. The firm, which has many years of experience within the optical sector, previously developed and then sold For Eyes, a retail optician business with 150 locations across the US.
The capital raise is part of an ambitious plan to build out IbisVision’s capabilities outside of the UK, where it currently is working with the NHS and optometrists in developing its remote eye test technology. The company already sells its technology in India, where it is used in kiosks situated in the country’s transport network.
IbisVision is now focusing on adapting its products for the $37.5 billion US market, where there is an annual tally of 88 million eye tests in a rapidly ageing population that as a result is highly susceptible to visual defects. With a widely dispersed population and a largely fragmented market of around 35,000 optometrists, there is increasing demand for the telemedicine that IbisVision specialises in.
Commenting, CEO Mark Roger said: “While Glasgow born and bred, we have global ambitions, and you cannot be a global business without a significant footprint in the US. Our proposition is very much aligned with the trends that the US investment industry is focused on, as evidenced by the continuing support from Adam and Yannick at Compiler. With increased funding from US investors, we hope to tap our international potential with a key focus being the lucrative and expanding US eye-care market itself.”
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