Through the Eyes of AI
How AEYE Health Is Transforming Vision Screening, and Rewiring the Future of Preventive Care
The greatest breakthroughs don’t add complexity—they make the essential accessible.
I’ve spent nearly two decades building companies at the intersection of technology and human possibility. Each time, I’ve asked myself the same question: what if this innovation could be more than a product—what if it could rewire an entire system of how people live, learn, or heal?
After Supersocial was acquired, I reconnected with a long-time friend, Zack Dvey-Aharon, CEO of AEYE Health, and that question hit me squarely in the chest. Here was a team that had cracked something extraordinary: the ability to diagnose diabetic retinopathy—one of the leading causes of preventable blindness, instantly, in minutes, at the point of care.
I could see how AEYE’s breakthrough technology could not only help millions of diabetic patients but also help shape the future of preventive healthcare.
Why This Matters
Some technologies may seem incremental, while others shift the foundations of how entire systems operate. What AEYE Health is building belongs unmistakably to the latter.
At first glance, this might look like an eye exam innovation. But diabetic retinopathy is one of the most insidious and preventable causes of blindness. In 2020 alone, it left approximately 1.07 million people blind and nearly 3.28 million with moderate-to-severe visual impairment worldwide (source). Despite treatments that can prevent up to 98% of vision loss with early detection (source), only 25% of those at risk receive annual screenings.
It’s not that the science fails—it’s that the system fails to bring it to people in time. AEYE Health solves that failure.
The company’s autonomous, portable, FDA-cleared AI system has already been deployed in clinics, and it delivers a full diabetic retinopathy diagnosis in less than a minute, at the point of care, using a handheld retinal camera and a single image.
No human interpretation required.
No multi-week wait for results.
No patient lost in the referral maze.
A person walks into their primary care clinic, and by the time they leave, they know whether they’re at risk of losing their sight.
That shift—from delayed, specialist-only screening to instant, universal access is a significant improvement in eye care, as well as a potential blueprint for a new paradigm in healthcare delivery.
Think about what happens when diagnostics become instantaneous, autonomous, and ubiquitous:
Access explodes. Every clinic, urban or rural, can deliver world-class diagnostics.
Costs collapse. Early detection prevents the need for expensive late-stage disease management.
Outcomes improve. Patients don’t disappear into the cracks of the system—they get answers and interventions when it matters most.
And diabetic retinopathy is just the beginning.
The eye is more than a sensory organ—it’s a biomarker-rich canvas of systemic health. Retinal imaging already shows predictive signals for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, glaucoma, and even neurological conditions. AI can see what human specialists cannot. AI screening technology could evolve into a universal diagnostic layer, where the eye becomes a window into the body, and early detection becomes the new default across general care.
The Larger Context
Healthcare has long struggled with a paradox: we spend the most when it’s too late. The promise of AI is to flip that equation—to put intelligence at the edge, where people actually live and seek care.
The momentum is staggering: The global AI in healthcare market was valued at $26.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $187.7 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~38.6% (source). And the preventive healthcare technologies market is projected to grow from $295 billion in 2024 to $1.19 trillion by 2034 (source).
These are clear signals that AI will be foundational to preventive care.
Why I’m Helping
I’ve spent my career at the intersection of technology and human possibility. AEYE is a rare case where the impact is immediate, measurable, and deeply human: saving sight, preserving livelihoods, and showing us what it looks like to design healthcare that actually works for people.
That’s why I’m helping AEYE Health with its strategic growth. It’s not just about the eyes but about rewiring the way we deliver preventive care in the 21st century.
The future of healthcare will be written in the ordinary moments when a patient gets the right answer, at the right time, in the right place, not solely in labs or hospitals. And AEYE is building tools to make that future possible.
With belief,
Yon
👋 Hello! My mission with Beyond with Yon is to help solve humanity's greatest existential challenges and advance the human condition. Connect with me on LinkedIn and X.