Betterlab
Betterlab is a Brooklyn-based industrial design consultancy that partners with scientists and innovators to convert emerging research into commercial products. Its lead asset is a patent-pending 480nm light therapy eyewear for pediatric myopia, monetized via enterprise licensing and design services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Betterlab does
Betterlab is a Brooklyn-based industrial design consultancy that co-creates with scientists, technologists, and innovators to translate emerging research into commercially viable products. Founded by industrial designer Todd Bracher, the firm is built around a 'science-based design' thesis in which designers participate from the inception of R&D rather than being added late — an approach the company claims addresses the high failure rate of technically viable innovations that never achieve market adoption. The firm is small (1-10 employees) and privately held, with no disclosed institutional investors, and operates from a single headquarters at 63 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY.
Betterlab's core productized asset is a patent-pending eyewear solution that delivers 480nm spectrum light to the eye, replicating outdoor light exposure to trigger retinal dopamine release and reduce axial elongation — the underlying malformation driving pediatric myopia. The technology is positioned against a large projected market: roughly one billion people expected to have high myopia by 2050, with associated societal cost estimated at US$1.7 trillion. A second project — using light to curb pandemics — is listed as in development. Beyond these internal products, Betterlab offers industrial design and strategy services to researchers and innovators seeking to commercialize scientific discoveries.
Commercially, the firm operates two revenue streams: technology licensing (royalties on the patent-pending myopia eyewear, design, and marketing support to eyewear and children's healthcare brands) and professional design services. GTM is explicitly enterprise and partnership-driven — Betterlab is actively seeking licensing partners and welcomes inbound from investors and advisors — rather than direct-to-consumer. Marketing is concentrated in thought-leadership content (articles, newsletter, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn), and the firm's credibility is anchored almost entirely in founder Todd Bracher's 20+ year track record, 12+ patents, 200+ products brought to market, and multiple international design honors.
Betterlab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Betterlab
- Legal name
- Betterlab
- Website
- https://betterlab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Betterlab is a Brooklyn-based industrial design consultancy that partners with scientists and innovators to convert emerging research into commercial products. Its lead asset is a patent-pending 480nm light therapy eyewear for pediatric myopia, monetized via enterprise licensing and design services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Betterlab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Design Services
- NAICS
- Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing (339115), Industrial Design Services (54142)
- SIC
- Ophthalmic Goods (3851)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Contact Lens Specialty & Myopia Control (HLAKAKAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Optical Dispensing & Eyewear Devices (Frames, Lenses, Lens Edging/Finishing Equipment) (HLAHAJAD), Vision Therapy & Orthoptics (HLAKAKAM)
Keywords
Where Betterlab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Betterlab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Technology Licensing: Betterlab licenses its patent rights, design, and marketing support to partners in the eyewear and children's healthcare industries. This represents their primary revenue model for the myopia solution.
- Industrial Design Services: Co-creation services with scientists, technologists, and innovators to shape emerging research and technologies into commercial products and solutions.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Betterlab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Betterlab is an industrial design consultancy that co-creates with scientists, technologists, and innovators to convert emerging research and foundational technologies into market-ready products. Its flagship commercial initiative is the Myopia Solution, a patent-pending 480nm light therapy eyewear product designed for myopia prevention in children, which the firm licenses to eyewear and children's healthcare brands rather than selling directly.
Product overview
Betterlab is an Industrial Design partner that co-creates with scientists, technologists, and innovators to shape emerging research and foundational technologies into game-changing products and solutions. Their portfolio includes the Myopia Solution (a patent-pending eyewear product for addressing myopia in children), Project 002 on using light to curb pandemics (in development), and design consulting services focused on science-based design. The company operates at the intersection of design, science, and business, with founder Todd Bracher bringing over 20 years of experience in industrial design and product development.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Myopia Solution (Project 001) A patent-pending eyewear solution that delivers 480nm spectrum light to the eye, replicating the benefits of outdoor sunlight exposure to address myopia in children. The product passively delivers light therapy to promote healthy eye development and address the underlying cause of myopia, intended for licensing to eyewear and children's healthcare brands rather than direct consumer sale.
- Industrial Design Services Co-creation services with scientists, technologists, and innovators to shape emerging research and foundational technologies into commercial products and solutions. Engagements apply Betterlab's science-based design methodology, embedding designers at the inception of R&D to convert viable innovations into market-ready offerings.
Quantifiable outcome
- 97% of patents never successfully brought to market—Betterlab's approach addresses this failure rate through science-based design
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Betterlab
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Betterlab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Betterlab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Betterlab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ammunition Group: Ammunition is a design studio that blends industrial design, brand, and product strategy for global consumer-product clients. It is comparable to Betterlab both as a competing industrial design partner and as a peer of founder Todd Bracher's Studio Bracher practice.
- Frog Design (Capgemini Engineering): Frog is an award-winning industrial design and innovation consultancy with deep enterprise clients. It competes with Betterlab for industrial design mandates that translate emerging technology into shipped products—the core service offering of Betterlab.
- Lunar Design: Lunar is a long-standing industrial design firm that translates emerging technology into mass-produced products across consumer and medical categories. Its model of converting research-stage technology into shippable products maps directly onto Betterlab's stated value proposition.
- HOYA Corporation: HOYA's MiyoSmart spectacle lens is a leading myopia-management product for children using defocus-based optical technology. It is the closest direct competitor to Betterlab's 480nm light therapy eyewear, addressing the same pediatric myopia market via an alternative non-invasive mechanism.
- IDEO: IDEO is the prototypical science-and-human-centered industrial design consultancy and operates as a design partner to innovators and corporates. Betterlab competes for the same enterprise design engagements and pitches a closely adjacent 'design as innovation partner' narrative.
- CooperVision: CooperVision's MiSight contact lens is the first FDA-approved myopia management soft contact lens for children. It directly targets the same pediatric myopia intervention category that Betterlab is addressing with light therapy eyewear.
Broad incumbents
- Bausch + Lomb: Bausch + Lomb has a broad ophthalmic and contact lens portfolio including myopia management offerings and historical orthokeratology products. It is a broad incumbent a small licensor like Betterlab would compete with for shelf space and clinician endorsement in the pediatric myopia category.
- EssilorLuxottica: Through its Stellest spectacle lens and broader ophthalmic portfolio, EssilorLuxottica is a dominant player in myopia management and the global eyewear channel Betterlab is targeting for licensing. It is a broad incumbent with scale, distribution, and clinical evidence that Betterlab is positioning against.
Emerging players
- Luminette: Luminette makes light-therapy glasses for circadian and mood applications, sharing Betterlab's core technology category (wearable therapeutic light) but addressing a different end indication. It is an emerging adjacent player in the wearable light-therapy space.
- Pear Therapeutics: Pear (now part of the digital therapeutics landscape) is a relevant analog as a small-cap company commercializing scientifically grounded pediatric health technology via enterprise partnerships. It illustrates the scale-up trajectory and capital-intensity Betterlab may need to navigate.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Betterlab social profiles
Digital presenceBetterlab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Betterlab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Betterlab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Betterlab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Betterlab
What does Betterlab do?
Betterlab is an industrial design consultancy that co-creates with scientists, technologists, and innovators to convert emerging research and foundational technologies into market-ready products. Its flagship commercial initiative is the Myopia Solution, a patent-pending 480nm light therapy eyewear product designed for myopia prevention in children, which the firm licenses to eyewear and children's healthcare brands rather than selling directly.
Is Betterlab a public or private company?
Betterlab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Betterlab founded?
Betterlab was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Betterlab based?
Betterlab is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Betterlab make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Technology Licensing is the primary driver. The others are industrial Design Services.
Who are Betterlab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ammunition Group, Frog Design (Capgemini Engineering), Lunar Design, HOYA Corporation, IDEO and CooperVision. Broad incumbents are Bausch + Lomb and EssilorLuxottica. Emerging players are Luminette and Pear Therapeutics.
Does Betterlab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Betterlab.
What industry is Betterlab in?
Betterlab's product category is Industrial Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAKAKAK, Contact Lens Specialty & Myopia Control, with a secondary code of HLAHAJAD, Optical Dispensing & Eyewear Devices (Frames, Lenses, Lens Edging/Finishing Equipment). Its NAICS code is 339115 and its SIC code is 3851.