BCI startup Neurable wants to license ‘mind reading’ technology to wearable consumer devices

BCI (brain-computer interface) technology — in which neural signals are routed from a person’s head to a computer — was once the stuff of science fiction, but today the technology represents a competitive corner of the tech industry. One of the companies fighting for the commercialization of BCI is Nervouswhich this week announced it wants to license mind-reading technology to consumer wearables.

Neurable specializes in “non-invasive” BCI, which sets it apart from companies such as Neuralink – the Elon Musk-founded startup known for inserting computer chips directly into people’s skulls – as its product does not require users to undergo brain surgery to enjoy its benefits.

Neurable’s technology works through a combination of EEG sensors and signal processing that can scan a user’s brain activity, analyze it with AI, and provide information about a person’s cognitive performance.

In December, Neurable raised $35 million in a Series Awhich it plans to use to scale up the commercialization of its technology. This week, the company announced that, as part of its expansion effort, it is looking to license its technology to various consumer-facing companies.

The idea is that mind-reading technology (which can provide detailed data about how a person’s brain works while engaged in various activities) could be incorporated into wearables across a range of industries – including health and sports products, productivity tools and gaming. “Through Neurable’s licensing platform, OEMs can directly integrate AI-powered brain-sensing technology into existing hardware, such as headsets, hats, glasses and headbands, while maintaining full control over product design, user experience and distribution,” the company said in a press release on Tuesday.

Neurable has already promoted partnerships with several companies to test its effectiveness. This includes HP Inc.’s HyperX, a gaming brand, with which created a headset Designed to help players “level up their game by optimizing focus and performance.” He has also worked with a company called iMotionsa software platform specializing in human behavior research, to help with the company’s research initiatives.

In an interview, Neurable CEO Ramses Alcaide declined to say what new partnerships the company has in the works, but said the company is looking to expand its remit in a number of areas.

“In the past, we’ve been very specific about our partnerships,” Alcaide said, noting that Neurable tended to approach a specific company to prove that a unique commercial application was worthwhile. Now that they know expectations can be met on multiple fronts, the startup is focused on scaling itself, he said.

“What we’re doing now is we’re basically saying, like, ‘Hey, we’ve proven that we have a lot of traction,'” Alcaide said. “So let’s make this as ubiquitous as heart rate sensors on your wrist, right?”

Despite the “non-invasive” label, brain data is arguably a bit more intimate than information collected by a heart rate sensor, so what kind of privacy protection does a company like Neurable provide?

Alcaide said the company ensures that user data is “protected and anonymized.” The company’s privacy policy provides a variety of different guidelines about when and how a user’s data is accessed and used. “We’re making sure we’re following HIPAA standards, as we’ve gone above and beyond where a lot of startups would be to make sure we’re protecting data, encrypting it and anonymizing it,” Alcaide said.

Does Neurable leverage a user’s neural data to train its AI software? “We can with the user’s consent, right?” Alkaid said. “But we do it in a very specific way.” That particular way involves asking the user if their data can be used for the purposes of specific experiments, Alcaide said. “We don’t collect the data, we just train on it willy-nilly,” he said. In other words, this kind of data use is quite targeted.

Alcaide said his industry is at an “inflection point” — a point where there is finally “a real business model in neuro-technology that is scalable.” What comes after this tipping point is the big question.