🔒CT biotech LambdaVision raises $7M to advance space-made artificial retina

LambdaVision, a Woodbridge-based biotechnology company developing a space-manufactured artificial retina to treat blindness, announced it has raised $7 million in seed funding to advance preclinical research and scale its orbital production process. The funding round was co-led by Seven Seven Six — a venture firm founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian — and Aurelia Foundry Fund, with participation from Seraphim Space. The new capital is expected to fund operations into 2027. LambdaVision’s experimental therapy aims to restore sight for millions of people worldwide who lose their vision each year to retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. The company produces its protein-based retinal implants in microgravity environments aboard the International Space Station, where the absence of gravity allows the creation of highly uniform, multilayered protein films that are difficult to replicate on Earth. The company has completed nine missions to the space station through partnerships with NASA and implementation partner Space Tango to refine its manufacturing process. The new funding will be used to expand preclinical development and prepare for future clinical trials, the company said. “This seed round funding will help bring us closer to clinical trials and continue to pioneer scalable production of our artificial retina, including manufacturing techniques implemented in low-Earth orbit,” said LambdaVision CEO Nicole Wagner. LambdaVision has previously received more than $15 million in grant funding from NASA, the National Science Foundation and the National Eye Institute. The company said it plans to continue fundraising in advance of a planned Series A round and expects its artificial retina to enter human trials once preclinical studies are complete. Founded at the University of Connecticut, LambdaVision’s technology uses light-sensitive proteins to mimic the natural function of photoreceptor cells in the eye. The company was previously based in Farmington, but moved about a year ago to Woodbury, at 4 Research Drive, where it employs six people. The company said it plans to hire an additional three to five employees over the next six months.