Retina Specialty Institute

What Retina Specialty Institute does

Retina Specialty Institute is a private, founder-led retinal specialty medical practice headquartered in Pensacola, Florida, founded in 2010 by Dr. Sunil Gupta. The practice operates 10 office locations across the Gulf Coast region spanning Northwest Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, and employs between 101 and 250 staff. It serves patients with retinal diseases and conditions, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal tears/holes/detachment, uveitis, inherited retinal diseases, macular pucker and edema, retinal vein occlusion, and retinopathy of prematurity. The practice is staffed by 10 fellowship-trained, board-certified retina specialists and provides diagnostic, medical, and surgical care, including vitrectomy surgery, intravitreal injections, and laser procedures, alongside an active clinical trials program.

The practice's technology stack centers on clinical equipment for retinal diagnostics and surgery, supplemented by two patient-facing digital tools: the Clear Healthcare App (iOS and Android) for appointment management, medication refills, secure messaging, and multi-practice care access, and an online Patient Portal for medical record access. The Clear Healthcare App represents a distributed patient engagement layer across the affiliated Southern Eye Care Group network. The practice accepts most insurance policies and offers same-day and next-day appointments, with an after-hours emergency line (1-855-5-RETINA). The underlying technical footprint is conventional for a multi-site specialty medical practice; differentiation is driven by clinical talent and clinical trial access rather than proprietary technology.

The business model is professional services revenue generated from consultations, diagnostic procedures, intravitreal injections, laser treatments, and surgical procedures, reimbursed primarily through insurance. Patient acquisition is distributed across a physician referral program (optometrists, primary care), online booking, phone scheduling, social media (Facebook, Instagram), and after-hours emergency service. The practice is part of the broader Southern Eye Care Group network, and its founder holds leadership roles in USRetina and IRIS (Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems), an FDA-cleared diabetic retinopathy telemedicine platform. No public funding, institutional investors, or PE involvement is disclosed; the company operates as an independent, founder-led specialty practice.

Name

Retina Specialty Institute

Legal name

Retina Specialty Institute

Website

https://retinaspecialty.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Retina Specialty Institute is a private, founder-led ophthalmology practice operating 10 locations across the Gulf Coast (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi), providing diagnostic, medical, and surgical retina care through 10 fellowship-trained specialists to patients with retinal diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal detachment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ophthalmology Services

NAICS

Offices of Other Health Practitioners (6213)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093)

akta.pro primary industry

Retina & Vitreous Specialists (HLAKAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ophthalmology Clinics (Medical & Surgical Eye Care) (HLAKAKAC), Ocular Imaging & Diagnostic Testing Centers (HLAKAKAN)

Keywords

• Retinal disease treatment
• Vitreoretinal surgery
• Diabetic retinopathy care
• Macular degeneration treatment
• Ophthalmology services

Headquarters

HQ city

Pensacola

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Clinical Services Revenue: Revenue generated from medical consultations, diagnostic procedures, intravitreal injections, laser treatments, and surgical procedures including vitrectomy surgery for retinal conditions. The practice accepts most insurance policies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Retina Specialty Institute is a private medical practice providing diagnosis and treatment of retinal diseases and conditions, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal tears/holes/detachment, inherited retinal diseases, uveitis, macular pucker and edema, retinal vein occlusion, and retinopathy of prematurity. Care is delivered by a team of 10 fellowship-trained, board-certified vitreoretinal specialists across 10 office locations in Northwest Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, supported by an active clinical trials program, a mobile patient app, and an online patient portal.

Product overview

Retina Specialty Institute is a healthcare practice offering a unified suite of retina specialty services centered on its network of board-certified vitreoretinal surgeons. The core offering consists of comprehensive diagnostic and surgical retina care, supported by the Clear Healthcare App for patient engagement and a Patient Portal for health record access. Additional offerings include an active Clinical Trials Program providing experimental treatment access, and Retina 101 patient education resources. The practice operates across 10+ locations in the Gulf Coast region (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi), serving patients from initial diagnosis through surgical intervention and ongoing disease management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Retina Specialty Institute Healthcare Services Comprehensive retina specialty healthcare services including diagnosis, intravitreal injections, laser treatments, and clinical management of retinal diseases for adult and pediatric patients across the Gulf Coast region.
• Vitrectomy Surgery Surgical procedure involving removal of the vitreous gel from the eye to access the retina for treatment of retinal detachment, diabetic retinopathy, macular holes, and epiretinal membranes. Performed by board-certified vitreoretinal surgeons.
• Clinical Trials Program
• Clear Healthcare App
• Patient Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• Prevented blindness in over 1 million lives

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Southern Eye GroupcoreOthersRetina Specialty Institute is part of Southern Eye Care Group, a comprehensive eye care network providing retina, cataract, LASIK, and optical services across the Gulf Coast region.
• USRetinacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Sunil Gupta serves as co-founder and chief medical officer of USRetina, one of the largest associations of retina physicians in the United States.
• Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Sunil Gupta founded, and serves as chairman and chief medical officer of IRIS, an FDA-cleared, cloud-based telemedicine tool for assessment of retinal eye disease in primary care settings. The IRIS system is designed to help end preventable blindness due to diabetic retinopathy.
• Andrews Institute Ambulatory Surgery CenterminorOthersDr. Sunil Gupta serves as past chairman of the Andrews Institute Ambulatory Surgery Center and serves on the board of the Andrews Research & Education Institute.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Retina Group of Florida: Multi-location retina specialty practice serving Florida with board-certified vitreoretinal surgeons, offering a comparable mix of medical retina, surgical retina, and clinical trials. Operates in overlapping Florida markets and competes for physician referrals.
• Retina Associates of Florida: Regional retina-only group practice in Florida with multiple office locations, fellowship-trained retinal specialists, and similar service offerings in AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and vitreoretinal surgery.
• Southern Eye Group: Parent/affiliated comprehensive eye care network that RSI sits within; provides retina, cataract, LASIK, and optical services across the Gulf Coast. Directly comparable through shared practice infrastructure and physician roster.
• Retina Consultants of America: Network of leading retina specialist practices across the US providing medical and surgical retina care plus clinical research. RSI competes for talent, referrals, and clinical trial sponsorships against RCA-affiliated groups.
• Retina Consultants of Texas: Large retina specialty practice with multiple Texas locations, extensive clinical trials portfolio, and fellowship-trained surgeons. Operates with a similar specialty-only, multi-site, research-engaged model.

Emerging players

• USRetina: One of the largest associations of retina physicians in the US, co-founded by Dr. Gupta. Functions as a strategic network rather than a direct competitor, but shapes referral flow, payer negotiations, and clinical research access for RSI and peers.
• Intelligent Retinal Imaging Systems (IRIS): FDA-cleared cloud-based telemedicine platform for diabetic retinopathy screening, founded by Dr. Gupta. Functionally adjacent rather than competing, but shapes upstream screening referrals that feed RSI's clinical volumes.

Broad incumbents

• Bascom Palmer Eye Institute: Nationally ranked academic ophthalmology department (part of UHealth/University of Miami) offering subspecialty retina care plus research and training. Sets the clinical standard and competes for complex referrals in Florida.
• Eye Health America: PE-backed integrated eye care platform operating multi-specialty ophthalmology and optometry practices across the Southeast. Provides capital-backed scale against which RSI competes for physician talent and referrals.

Regional players

• Carolina Retina Institute: Multi-physician retina specialty practice in the Carolinas offering medical and surgical retina care with clinical research involvement. Comparable in size and operating model but geographically non-overlapping.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/retinaspecialtyinstitute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/retina-specialty-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/retinaspecialtyinstitute
• Xx.com/retinaspecialty

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Retina Specialty Institute