BCI startup Neurable looks to license its ‘mind-learning’ technology for consumer wearables

BCI technology (brain-computer interface) – where neural signals are transmitted from the human head to a computer – was a matter of science fiction, but these days the technology represents a competitive corner of the technology industry. One of the companies chasing BCI commercialization, Neurable, announced this week that it is looking to license its “mind-reading” technology to consumer wearables.

Neurable focuses on “non-invasive” BCI, distinguishing itself from firms like Neuralink—the startup founded by Elon Musk known for implanting computer chips directly into people’s skulls—in that its product does not require users to undergo brain surgery to enjoy its benefits.

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

In December, Neurable raised $35 million in Series A funding, which it plans to use to increase sales of its technology. This week, the company announced that, as part of its expansion effort, it is looking to offer its technology to various consumer-facing companies.

The idea is that brain-learning technology (which can provide detailed data about how a person’s brain works while performing various tasks) can be integrated into wearables across many industries—including health and athletic products, productivity tools, and games. “Through Neurable’s licensing platform, OEMs can directly integrate AI-powered brain-sensing technology into existing hardware, such as headphones, helmets, 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 fostered partnerships with many companies to test its effectiveness. This includes HP Inc.’s HyperX, a gaming brand, which has created a headset designed to help gamers “enhance their gaming experience by improving focus and efficiency.” It has also partnered with a company called iMotions, a software platform specializing in human behavior research, to help with the company’s research programs.

In an interview, Neurable CEO Ramses Alcaide declined to say which new partnerships the company has in the works, but said the company wants to expand its work in more domains.

“In the past, we’ve been very specific about our partnerships,” Alcaide said, noting that Neurable often went in with a company to prove that a unique trade proposal was worth it. Now that they know that expectations can be met in many areas, startups are focused on growing themselves, he said.

“What we’re doing now is we’re basically saying, ‘Hey, we’ve shown that we’re getting great stuff’,” Alcaide said. “Like that, let’s make this as ubiquitous as the heart rate sensors on your wrist, shall we?”

Despite the “non-invasive” label, brain data is arguably more intimate than information captured from a heart rate sensor, so what kind of privacy protections does a company like Neurable offer?

Alcaide said the company ensures that user data is “secure and anonymous.” The company’s privacy policy provides various guidelines on when and how user data can be accessed and used. “We make sure that we follow HIPAA standards, like we go through the thresholds of many in our sector to make sure that we protect the data, we encrypt it, and we don’t reveal its name,” Alcaide said.

Does Neurable leverage user neural data to train its AI software?, we asked. “We can with the user’s permission, right?” Alcaide said. “But we’re doing it in a very specific way.” That specific approach involves asking the user if their data can be used for specific testing purposes, Alcaide said. “We don’t collect information, we train ourselves properly,” he said. In other words, this type of data usage is highly targeted.

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