EyecareX Named Global Finalist in the 2026 VSP Vision Innovation Challenge
EyecareX has been named one of four global finalists in the 2026 VSP Vision Innovation Challenge, VSP Vision's annual competition to identify the most promising technologies reshaping eye care. Selected from a worldwide applicant pool, EyecareX presented its AI-powered optometry practice management software live on the Innovation Stage at Vision Expo in Orlando on March 13, 2026, alongside finalists Altris AI, Captify, and Alchemy Vision.
The recognition puts EyecareX in front of one of the largest audiences in eye care: VSP Vision's Global Innovation Center, Topcon Healthcare's THINC Ventures, and thousands of optometry professionals attending North America's largest vision industry event.
What the VSP Vision Innovation Challenge is
The VSP Vision Innovation Challenge, run by VSP Vision's Global Innovation Center in partnership with Vision Expo, is a global search for startups building the next generation of eye care technology. This year's applicant pool included companies representing more than $300 million in combined venture funding, with finalists eligible for a $400,000 investment from Topcon Healthcare's THINC Ventures.
Being named a finalist means EyecareX's approach to solving optometry's biggest operational bottleneck, the administrative burden buried inside every optometry EMR and PMS, stood out among applicants from around the world.
Why EyecareX was selected
EyecareX was built as a complete practice management platform, not a bolt-on tool, spanning scheduling, charting, billing, recalls, and optical in one system. Unlike point solutions that layer an ambient scribe onto an existing PMS, EyecareX combines:
AI-driven pre-testing that uses computer vision to complete portions of the eye exam on the patient's own phone before they arrive, cutting exam time without cutting clinical quality (see how pre-visit testing works)
Ambient clinical documentation built natively into the platform, so the chart, letter, and billing codes are ready when the exam ends. Read more in AI Scribes for Optometrists: How AI Charting Actually Works
Multi-province billing integrations across BC, Alberta, and Ontario, straight from the completed chart
Health Canada clearance and PIPEDA/HIPAA compliance, built for the Canadian regulatory environment from day one
For a deeper look at why this matters, see Why Canadian Optometry Clinics Are Ditching Legacy PMS for AI-Native Optometry Practice Management Software and What Is Optometry Practice Management Software? A Practical Guide.
On stage in Orlando, EyecareX Founder and CEO Justin Asgarpour, a practicing optometrist and former Chief Vision Officer at Clearly (EssilorLuxottica), spoke to the judges and audience about what's costing optometry practices the most time today:
Optometrists didn't get into this profession to fight with software. Every hour we give back to a doctor is an hour they spend with a patient instead of a keyboard. That's the entire reason EyecareX exists.
What this means for optometry clinics
For clinic owners evaluating practice management software or comparing EMR vs. PMS options, finalist recognition from VSP, one of the largest vision benefits providers in North America, is third-party validation that EyecareX's approach to AI in optometry holds up against a global field of competitors. It also signals a deepening relationship between EyecareX and VSP's 40,000+ optometry provider network.
Clinics currently running on legacy PMS/EMR systems, or considering an ambient scribe add-on rather than a fully integrated platform, can read more in AI Scribes for Optometrists: How AI Charting Actually Works and Patient Recalls: The Most Underrated Revenue Driver in Optometry for how a fully integrated platform compares to piecing together separate tools.
Looking ahead
EyecareX will continue building on this momentum as it expands across Canada and prepares for U.S. market entry, alongside other recent milestones including graduating from the Creative Destruction Lab and joining the Google for Startups Accelerator: Canada. To see the platform behind the pitch, book a demo, or read more about what optometry practice management software should actually do for a modern clinic.