Romanian startup .lumen attracts new investment from EIT Urban Mobility to scale AI glasses for the blind

Romanian deep-tech startup .lumen, the developer of what it says are the world’s first AI-powered glasses for the blind, has secured a new investment from EIT Urban Mobility, the European innovation community focused on advancing sustainable and inclusive urban mobility solutions. The value of the new funding round was not disclosed.

The investment aligns with EIT Urban Mobility’s mission “to fund technologies that make cities more inclusive, accessible, and livable, from reducing congestion to creating equitable streets, a philosophy mirrored in .lumen’s mission to redefine human mobility,” reads the press release.

Founded in Cluj-Napoca, .lumen uses Pedestrian Autonomous Driving (PAD AI) technology to enable independent navigation for visually impaired people by replicating the functions of a guide dog through artificial intelligence, computer vision, and haptic feedback. The company estimates its technology could benefit up to 338 million visually impaired people worldwide.

The investment follows a year of increased visibility and growth for the startup. In September, .lumen’s AI-powered glasses were showcased by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen during her State of the Union address, where the technology was described as a European innovation with tangible social impact.

This latest funding comes after a landmark year in which .lumen attracted backing from Catalyst Romania, SeedBlink, the European Innovation Council Fund, Sweden-based Tigrim, and VR HealthTech, further strengthening its position among Europe’s most recognized deep-tech scale-ups.

“Mobility is a human right. With EIT Urban Mobility, we’re scaling our impact from the sidewalk to the city,” said Cornel Amariei, CEO and founder of .lumen.

The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

(Photo source: .lumen)