The Italian startup has developed the world's first visual correction software for digital devices, eliminating the need for glasses.
Tackling age-related vision loss for 2 billion people and saying goodbye to reading glasses, in just a few clicks and without surgery. That is the promise of Glassless, the Italian startup that is developing software capable of bringing words and images into focus in real time on smartphones, tablets and computers. Thanks to this system, developed by a team of experts in physics, photonics, engineering and software development, the need for lenses and glasses in front of digital devices is eliminated entirely.
It is estimated that nearly two billion people worldwide suffer from presbyopia, with more than 820 million cases going inadequately corrected. This physiological decline in vision, which progresses with age, leads to a gradual loss of the eye's ability to accommodate. The loss of elasticity in the lens and the connected ciliary muscle results in difficulty focusing at distances of less than one metre. The most common solution to compensate for this deficiency is the use of lenses and glasses. Recourse to surgery, on the other hand, depends on various factors such as age, the presence of other visual impairments, and any prior cataract procedure.
Glassless was created precisely to make life easier for people with presbyopia all over the world. It was co-founded by a team comprising Arturo Catalano Gonzaga, an electronic engineer who graduated from the University of Bath, Giorgio Sleiter, who holds a master's in entrepreneurship from King's College London and has experience in venture building at Bain & Company, Michelangelo Panza, a physicist and researcher, and Giuseppe Antonacci, a physicist specialising in photonics and founder of Specto Photonics.
How does it work? After entering their visual prescription or alternatively completing a short test, the user is provided with a personalised vision profile. The algorithm then adapts the content displayed on screen in real time according to the individual's degree of presbyopia. The result is sharper vision without resorting to ophthalmic solutions, bridging the visual deficit. All of this is made possible by software integrated directly into the display, requiring no headsets or additional hardware.
Designed to adapt to the person — not the other way around — the programme has an inclusive mission. Its goal is to reach that large share of people who have no access to solutions or who live in areas where eye care services are unavailable. It is a way of making access to devices more democratic by narrowing the gap between different needs. The startup, still in its early stages but already the recipient of awards and funding, expects to launch its commercial product by 2027. By 2028, it aims to make its technology available to device manufacturers through a software development kit that will allow it to be integrated directly into other products.
