Michigan student-run Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund has returned to back Neurable's neurological activity-based VR and AR technology.
Neurable, a US-based brain-computer interface developer spun out from University of Michigan, has secured an undisclosed amount of series A funding from the university’s student-run Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund.
Founded in 2015, Neurable has developed a brain-computer interface that enables users to control virtual reality or augmented reality (VR or AR) software using only their brain activity, for purposes including gaming, health and occupational productivity.
The technology uses machine learning to classify brain electroencephalogram (EEG) signals that indicate how a user wishes the program to respond. Rather than using a bespoke unit, Neurable’s technology works through third-party EEG headsets already on the market.
The spinout was co-founded by four former student researchers and alumni of University of Michigan: Ramses Alcaide, Michael Thompson, James Hamet and Adam Molnar. Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund is managed by students from the University of Michigan Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Neurable raised $2m in a December 2016 seed round led by VC firm Accomplice’s Boss Syndicate that featured conglomerate Kraft Group, Point Judith Capital, Loup Ventures, NXT Ventures and unnamed angel investors. It went on to receive an undisclosed sum from Zell Lurie Founders Fund in August 2017.
University of Michigan’s TechArb accelerator hosted Neurable in 2015, the year before the spinout secured more than $300,000 in prize funding from the university’s Rice Business Plan Competition.