Company: HX Lab
Website: http://www.hxlab.co.uk
About Elena & HX Lab
HX Lab is a neurotechnology company founded by psychologist Matt Critchley and neuroscientist Elena Cismigiu currently bringing out a novel cognitive analysis system for the commercial world. They started HX in 2019 as university students while performing neuropsychological studies using competitor technology in marketing situations but through the limitations they observed, they have decided to invent a more efficient and user-friendly technology. They pivoted during the pandemic due to testing restrictions and are now undergoing funding and 2 technological patents for their innovation.
They have received many grants from Keele University for their technology and have been awarded an Innovate UK Grant for the introduction of the HX Scanner in the creative industries and are now in the process of raising pre-seed funding to develop their prototypes. In 2022 they will be raising a seed round to bring their technology to commercialisation.
Elena Cismigiu is a disabled neuroscientist and co-founder and CEO of HX Lab. Besides her usual duties at HX Lab, she is helping Matt develop a technology that is inclusive for disabled and neurodivergent individuals, a fact she has seen being overlooked by many other technological companies in the space. Through her work, she aims to build a company around inclusivity and diversity, by promoting disabled talent and inclusive practices. She has given panels at Cambridge Judge Business School on EDI in the workplace and is involved in many women in technology groups in the UK.
She has been nominated for multiple women in technology awards for both the HX Lab technology and personal involvement in the technological space. Her goal for this year is to develop those relationships and work with disability charities such as SCOPE to promote fair and unbiased hiring. Through HX Lab, both Matt and Elena want to reframe HR and L+D practices to match the current climate and need for positive mental wellbeing in the workplace and inclusive methods of training and hiring.
