Neurotech A.I. Startup Cognixion™ (nee Smartstones, Inc.) Secures $1 Million Angel Seed Round

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Life is imitating art with Cognixion (formerly Smartstones) enabling non-verbal people to communicate with their minds. This is not some sort of telepathic nonsense of “unlocking the mind” but grounded on the latest developments in A.I., specifically, Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). This means that brilliant minds like Stephen Hawking whose physical body struggles with speech can communicate unencumbered in the future and those with special needs can find their voice. Cognixion, riding on AI is slated to mainstream the use of BCI as a viable communication technology. In short, it will take neuroscience from the lab into the real world.

Andreas Forsland, CEO of Cognixion and owner of Smartstones® and Speak :prose™ has been in the AI business since 2015. Smartstones, a way to communicate non-verbally using gestures and swipes was inspired by his mother who caught pneumonia and could not speak. Eventually, the company also developed  :prose™ (for Apple and Android) which when paired with a sensory remote controller like a phone, an iWatch or an Emotiv EEG Headset became the quickest way to speak using thought, taps and gestures.

Initially, the products were designed for Healthcare and Education. but Cognixion goes beyond that. Early this February, Cognixion, operating in Canada (Toronto) and the USA (California) inked a $1M Angel Seed Round led by Tom Washing, Founding Partner of Sequel Venture Partners to develop an interface that will unlock human minds by creating a biosignal processing platform that translates thoughts, registered as brainwave patterns via a BCI (Brain Computer Interface) directly into speech.

“There has been a huge surge in venture capital and corporate investment in the areas of BCI, Artificial Intelligence & Augmented Reality.” – Andreas Forsland, CEO

Washing revealed that a total of nine angel investors were involved in financing Cognixion. Believing that “Cognixion’s technology is on the cutting edge of the BCI space,” Washing’s group includes prominent businessmen, major fund managers, and executives at companies like Google. Cognixion merges AI, AR, and BCI. To date, it has earned international recognition for enabling technology that impacted 370 million non-verbal people to communicate. Cognixion has the amazing track record of amassing major awards within a short span: Roddenberry Prize, Golden Edison Award for Social Impact, and the Singularity University Global Grand Challenge for Education.

Cognixion™ is building a revolutionary sensory communication platform with an audacious goal of being able to communicate with anyone around the world via a direct brain computer interface.              — CongniXion

The impact on healthcare, education, and rehabilitation is immense. When sensors are worn on the head, implanted in the brain, or installed in biosensing devices, data is sent to a software on the phone, mobile device or computer and transmitted through the Internet or private cloud. These signals are translated by Cognixion’s technology into speech or messages to apps.

Cognixion sees an integration of its technology with major companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, Facebook, Kernel and other BCI start-ups. This will enable billions to communicate and interact in new ways – and for those who are unable to speak, Cognixion becomes the interface that will expand human capabilities.