Better living through brainwave headsets

Hi, it’s Sarah in San Francisco. I wore a brain-reading headset for weeks to enhance my productivity. But first...Three things you need to k [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi, it’s Sarah in San Francisco. I wore a brain-reading headset for weeks to enhance my productivity. But first... Three things you need to know today: • The head of research at Stability AI [resigned from the startup]( • The Microsoft-Activision deal will “damage” PlayStation, [says Sony exec]( • FTX is said to halt the sale of its stake in [buzzy AI startup Anthropic]( Making brainwaves At first glance, the headset is unassuming. It almost looks like a pair of oversized headphones. There’s no outward indication that it can read signals in your brain and help alter your mood. But its creator, the startup Neurosity Inc., believes it’s at the forefront of a new wave of consumer products that will literally alter customers’ state of mind. Neurosity is one of a growing number of new companies making hardware that can read brainwaves. They’re taking advantage of the declining cost of electroencephalography, or EEG, the process of measuring the brain’s electrical activity. Startups with names like Emotive Inc., InteraXon Inc. and Earable Inc. are all working on devices that use EEG to measure everything from sleep to creativity. Neurosity’s device, called the Crown, is designed to enhance focus. It works by choosing specific tracks of music for the wearer, and over time finetunes the selection depending on its readings of the brain. AJ Keller, the co-founder and chief executive officer, says he wears the Crown almost every day and credits it with helping manage his ADHD. Other fans of the product include the singer Grimes. But not everyone is convinced it works. So, curious about the hype, I wore the device for a few weeks at home, first thing in the morning. The result: I was a little more productive — at least I think I was. To use the Crown, a user has to put it on for at least a few minutes each day, mostly keeping the eyes closed. The 10 embedded electrodes in the headband measure the intensity of the gamma waves in the brain and gauge concentration, the company says. [Researchers]( have [found]( that gamma waves become more intense as a person takes on more complicated mental tasks. While wearing the Crown, an accompanying app plays music that is designed to heighten focus. Numerous studies show that listening to certain types of [music](, especially non-vocal music played at [slower beats](, can boost concentration levels. After the session ends, an app displays an attractive turquoise line chart that purports to measure concentration on a scale of 1 to 100. On a recent Friday morning, the app estimated that it took me 32 seconds to shift into a focused state, and informed me that I’d achieved a focus score of 88%. “Woohoo! Your brain is focused and you can feel it!” it said. A spangle of digital confetti fell. As on most mornings, I did feel more focused than when I had sat down five minutes earlier — perhaps an experience worth the retail price of $2,099, or $99 per month. (I borrowed my Crown on a trial basis.) But was it the Crown? Or was it the coffee? Cristin Welle, a neurophysiologist at the University of Colorado, offered a quick and brutal assessment: “It sounds like it’s an amazing device to encourage the placebo effect.” Measuring gamma waves accurately is tough, she added, particularly outside of a clinical setting. Keller, the CEO and a former Boeing Corp. engineer who sports a brain-wave tattoo on his left bicep, said the company has solved this problem. It uses special signal-enhancing electrodes made by Datwyler Holding Inc., a Swiss company, along with technology that aims to prevent external noise from affecting measurements. Eventually, Keller imagines even more futuristic use cases, including controlling external devices. Already, by adapting software connected to the Crown, one person used his brainwaves to [drive a Tesla]( — albeit a short distance and very slowly. This technology “could be the platform on which we communicate about everything,” VC Adam Draper said in a video sent to me by the startup. Keller and his co-founder — neither of whom have a neuroscience background — have so far raised $4.9 million for the company. As a larger category, neurotech startups have raised $143 million so far this year, on top of $278 million in 2022, according to Pitchbook. The Crown’s highest-profile moment came last month, when Grimes [wore]( the device at an outdoor concert in Montenegro. Behind her, a projector showed images of asteroids flying through the sky. Using Neurosity’s software, the asteroids sped up when she concentrated on a certain pattern. “Grimes thinks this is a really exciting time to merge futuristic sci-fi ideas and concepts into real-life use cases,” her spokesperson said. It’s true that it’s early days for the intersection of brains and computers. “This is a huge area, and we’re going to see more of these devices,” Welle said. “Measuring your own brain signals is a cool thing to do.” —[S](mailto:TK@bloomberg.net)[arah McBride](mailto:smcbride24@bloomberg.net) The big story Big tech wants AI regulation — so long as users bear the brunt. While industry leaders have been sounding the alarm in the US, they’ve been [pushing back on oversight]( in the European Union. One to watch [Garry Tan: The AI Boom is About Cerebral Valley]( Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan joins Ed Ludlow to talk about the accelerator’s record-breaking batch of companies, the future of San Francisco and the rise of generative AI. Get fully charged Amazon’s driverless robotaxis take to the streets in [Las Vegas](. Alphabet is moving “[too fast](” in AI, Bernstein warned in a downgrade. Baidu claimed its Ernie Bot now [beats ChatGPT]( on key measures. New York is seeking to procure a [supercomputer]( to run artificial intelligence systems. More from Bloomberg Get Bloomberg Tech newsletters in your inbox: - [Cyber Bulletin]( for coverage of the shadow world of hackers and cyber-espionage - [Game On]( for reporting on the video game business - [Power On]( for Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more - [Screentime]( for a front-row seat to the collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley - [Soundbite]( for reporting on podcasting, the music industry and audio trends - [Hyperdrive]( for expert insight into the future of cars Follow Us Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights. 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