Interaxon creators of a device that allows a user to control things with their mind, validated their concept on Indiegogo last year when they crowdfunded $287,472 from 1613 backers – has now achieved the next level of validation by raising $6,000,000 in a series A round of funding from multiple prominent investors.
Announced at last weeks Grow2013 conference, Interaxon captured the backing of Horizon Ventures, OMERS Ventures, A-Grade Investments (Ashton Kutcher, Ron Burkle, Guy Oseary), ff Venture Capital, Felicis Ventures and Bridge Builders Collaborative.
Toronto based Interaxon developed the Muse – a “Brain sensing” headband that translates brainwaves into digital signals that fed into a computer allowing the user to control things by simply thinking about the action. As science fiction meets reality the Muse captured the attention of the crowdfunding world and now large investors are funding the future growth of this fascinating product.
The Muse integrates with your iOS or Android device. It measures your brainwaves in real time their algorithms monitor and capture patterns. Over time with practice you can manipulate your brainwave pattern – “like flexing a muscle you have never used before”.
After clearly proving there is consumer interest in the product with their crowdfunding round, the new funding will allow Interaxon to grow and continue to develop new applications and deliver commercial release in early 2014. The initial release will launch with their Brain Health System which monitors activity and provides real time feedback for the user on cognitive skills and more. There are mutiple apps in the pipeline for Muse.
The new investors shared their excitement in the product.
“We see the Muse headband as the first truly consumer-friendly, thought controlled computing device. We were drawn to InteraXon for their engaging applications, domain expertise, and thought leadership in their market space,” said George Babu, Director at OMERS Ventures. “This investment is directly aligned with OMERS Ventures’ strategy of seeking out promising Canadian technology companies with disruptive potential.”
“The fit with InteraXon was clear from the start,” said Jason Wong, Director of Horizons Ventures. “We chose to invest our capital in InteraXon because of the team’s vision of brain sensing technology and their clear articulation of a consumer-friendly, yet game-changing device.”
Interaxon co-founder and CEO Ariel Garten commented,
“These investors have experience with disruptive technologies which will prove invaluable to our growth.We have some of the best technology investors in the world as our partners,” said Ariel Garten, CEO & Founder of InteraXon. “We are looking forward to working alongside their extensive knowledge base to bring the affordances that brain sensing technology can provide, to consumers, in meaningful ways for daily life.”
Interaxon was founded in 2007 and is an innovator in brainwave control technology. They hope to make the technology accessible to all becoming an integral part in everyday lives.
interested purchasers who missed the indiegogo campaign may still reserve their very own Muse by going to Shoplocket. The current price of $199 is expected to increase on September 3rd.
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