Startup of the Week: Neurable

Startup-of-the-Week
  • Neurable was founded in 2015 by Ramses Alcaide, James Hamet and Adam Molnar.
  • The startup build neurotechnology tools that measure emotion, interpret user’s intent, and offer telekinetic control within the digital realm.
  • So far, Neurable have raised a total funding amount of $9m.

Website: https://neurable.com/

While real-world telekinesis seems only to exist in science fiction, in the immersive realm of virtual reality it’s already happening – thanks to our Startup of the Week Neurable.

Founded in 2015 by co-founders Ramses Alcaide, James Hamet and Adam Molnar, Neurable enables people to interact with both VR and AR applications using their brain activity. The startup’s tech is non-invasive and monitors brain activity by utilising machine learning and EEG to understand what you want to do. This way users can interact with Neurable’s technology using only their brain, negating the need for lag-prone controllers in VR.

 

 

Co-founder Ramses Alcaide has dedicated his career to creating accessible tech for everyone after his uncle lost both legs in a tragic accident. Alcaide spent years studying neuroscience, brain-machine interfaces, prosthetics control systems and electrical engineering, and for his PhD built a signal processing pipeline in which people with ALS and cerebral palsy could communicate through. This PhD researched then inspired Alcaide to create Neurable.

In 2017 during the SIGGRAPH conference, Neurable revealed a world first – its mind-controlled virtual reality game. The reveal was purely a demo to showcase the startup’s tech and capabilities. In the game, users were able to pick up objects, stop lasers and transform a robot dog into a balloon animal using only their mind.

Recently, Neurable announced the release of their BCI-capable headphones Enten. This product offers users insights into how their brain functions and helps them better manage their time, suggesting breaks at optimal points to improve focus, automatically silencing their notifications when busy and minimising detractions via passive controls.

With the brain-machine interface sector projected to reach a near $3.5 billion market value by 2027 – the likes of Elon Musk entering the space with Neuralink – Neurable’s non-invasive technology is one to watch for this year and beyond.