State of mind: Startup receives funding for brain-optimizing wearable tech

A spinout company, powered by discoveries made at Arizona State University, has raised $13 million in funding, led by Khosla Ventures. Thync is engineering the first lifestyle wearable that uses neurosignaling algorithms – waveforms that signal neural pathways – to shift and optimize people's state of mind in areas related to energy, calm and focus. 

“We share Thync’s belief that unlocking the power of the mind will be a great advancement and a frontier that consumers should have access to,” said Samir Kaul, partner, Khosla Ventures. “We back the talented team at Thync because we see a revolutionary convergence at the intersection of neuroscience and consumer technology.”

Sales of products and services related to inducing energy and relaxed states exceed $400 billion per year globally. Recent market research indicates that in the U.S., energy drinks are a $12.5 billion per year industry, while coffee, alcohol and artificial stimulant use is at an all-time high. The wearables market is projected to top more than $7 billion in 2015, with an estimated 300 million wearables to be shipped. Thync encompasses all of these categories with a chemical free product that will tap directly into the source – the user’s brain.

Thync’s technology platform comprises neurosignaling algorithms, hardware, software and biomaterials. The company is integrating the most advanced aspects of neuroscience and consumer electronics to create a new category of products that give individuals access to their own capabilities, without the need for chemicals or supplements.

“We created Thync to help people better access the power of their mind,” said Thync CEO and co-founder Isy Goldwasser. “We believe that when you conquer your mind, you can conquer your day.”

Thync was founded by engineering and neuroscience experts from ASU, Stanford, Harvard and MIT. They have advanced neurosignaling by leveraging decades of research and extensive testing to ensure a safe, effective, aesthetically designed lifestyle device that anyone can use.

“The Thync team is working hard on introducing neuroscience to 21st century engineering,” said Jamie Tyler, associate professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering and co-founder of Thync. “For the first time, we are able to target and optimize neural pathways and brain circuits for personal benefit. Thync technology converges on many of these same pathways to achieve positive effects.”

To date, more than 70 companies have been launched based on ASU discoveries. These companies and their sub-licensees have attracted more than $450 million in funding from venture capital firms and other investors, with much of this financing achieved during the last several years. Recently launched startups now employ more than 200 people in Arizona alone.

Thync is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with an office in Boston. More information is available at www.thync.com.