Azalea Vision Raises €9 Million in First Closing of Series A to Further Develop Intelligent Connected Vision Platform
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Industry veteran Robert J. Dempsey Appointed Chairman of the Board to Guide Strategic Growth in Europe and the U.S.
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GHENT, Belgium — Azalea (A-zuh-lay-ah) Vision, a HealthTech company engineering the future of sight, today announced the first closing of its €15 million Series A funding round, raising €9 million along with the appointment of Robert J. Dempsey as Chairman of the Board to guide strategic growth in the European and U.S. markets.
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I believe a future where vision is intelligent, connected, and effortlessly adaptive is among the most exciting frontiers in eyecare medical device innovation today.
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'Strong participation from repeat investors in this Series A milestone reaffirms their trust in our medical device and innovation for the future of intelligent ocular health,' said Enrique Vega, CEO of Azalea Vision. 'Additional funding in this round from SPRIM Global Investments and Afrimobility, along with a strategic investor who remains undisclosed, further emphasizes the confidence in our platform. The appointment of Robert J. Dempsey, a highly regarded leader in the ophthalmic space, brings deep domain expertise and strong industry relationships to guide our leadership team as we move forward into our next stage of growth.'
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'I believe a future where vision is intelligent, connected, and effortlessly adaptive is among the most exciting frontiers in eyecare medical device innovation today,' said Robert J. Dempsey. 'I am honored to serve as Chairman of the Board and contribute to driving this transformational journey.'
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Mr. Dempsey brings over three decades of experience in the eyecare industry, having served in leadership roles including CEO, Chairman, and Board Advisor. He has a proven track record of driving strategic transactions across multiple companies. Notably, he led the build-out of Shire's ophthalmic business, establishing it as a global leader in the space. Under his leadership, the company launched Xiidra – culminating in one of only three ophthalmic deals in the past two decades with an upfront value exceeding $1 Billion. Robert's strong track record across anterior and posterior segments positions him as a key strategic expert in advancing ophthalmic innovation.
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The Series A funding will support the execution of Azalea Vision's First-in-human (FIH) pilot clinical trial, a key milestone in establishing the safety and performance of its medically intelligent ocular technology platform. The goal is to receive Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), continue the clinical trials, and further advance commercialization efforts.
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Azalea Vision is pioneering the future of connected ocular health building a scalable solution for complex vision conditions, remote diagnostics, and targeted ocular therapies. Founded in 2021 as a spin-off from imec and Ghent University, the company is developing the first medical-grade smart lens platform designed to sense, adapt, and interact in real time. Azalea is supported since 2021 by leading MedTech, HealthTech, and DeepTech investors—including imec.xpand, Elaia Partners, Sensinnovat and Shigeru – and reinforced by EIC and VLAIO (Belgium) non-dilutive grants.
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Led by a multidisciplinary team with deep expertise in microelectronics, biomedical optics, and medical device innovation, Azalea Vision brings together decades of research and industrial development. The company's platform integrates stretchable electronics, custom-designed ASICs, liquid crystal optics, and NFC communication, all engineered into a lens-embedded system. This foundation enables Azalea to deliver medical-grade smart lenses that sense, adapt, and connect in real time—scaling from vision correction to biosensing, diagnostics, and beyond.
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