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NextSense Raises $16M to Decode Human Brain Activity with Wearable Neurotechnology

NextSense, Inc. has secured $16,000,000 in Series A funding to advance a new frontier in neuroscience: continuous, real-world brain monitoring through wearable sensors. The round includes backing from Ascension Ventures, Satori Neuro, Corundrum Neuroscience Fund, David Eagleman, Esther Dyson, and Bradley Horowitz, signaling deep conviction in NextSense’s mission to build a scalable platform for brain-based data insights outside the lab.

Founded by Jonathan Berent, NextSense develops ear-based biosensing technology capable of capturing neural activity in everyday settings - from sleep to work to physical activity - without requiring clinical equipment. Instead of relying on mismatched snapshots collected during controlled experiments, NextSense enables continuous neural data capture that reflects how the brain behaves in the real world.

The company sits at the convergence of neuroscience, wearables, and personalized health, where data is shifting from reactive diagnostics to proactive cognitive optimization.


The Problem: Neural Data Is Locked Inside Labs

Modern brain research has made extraordinary progress, but it relies on controlled lab environments that fail to reflect how neural patterns shift across daily life. Sleep studies require overnight clinics. EEG tests take place in medical settings. Long-term monitoring is expensive, invasive, and impractical for large populations.

As a result:

This gap becomes critical when applied to sleep disorders, mental health conditions, neurodegeneration, and learning science - all areas where changes unfold slowly and context matters.

NextSense’s wearable platform aims to unlock that missing temporal dimension.


The Shift: Brain Technology Moves from Clinical to Consumer

Neuroscience is undergoing the same transformation wearables brought to cardiology and metabolic health. Just as glucose monitors and smartwatches moved biometric tracking from hospitals to homes, neural sensing is poised to transition from clinical trials to everyday life.

Market trends point in the same direction:

And as AI systems become more personalized, real-world physiological data becomes a core input - not an afterthought.

The companies that control real-world brain datasets will anchor the next wave of cognitive tech breakthroughs, from mental health therapies to adaptive learning platforms.


The Strategic Advantage: Becoming the Neural Data Infrastructure Layer

What makes NextSense especially compelling is not just its hardware - it’s the platform layer. Brain data is noisy, complex, and difficult to interpret without signal processing expertise. Tools that merely collect brain activity struggle to scale commercially. Tools that standardize, interpret, and integrate neural signals into product ecosystems become infrastructure.

Once a platform becomes the translation layer between raw neural data and actionable insights, switching costs rise dramatically:

This is how an experimental technology turns into an operating platform.

Neurotech companies that win won’t just measure the brain - they’ll define how other companies use that measurement.


Why Now Is the Inflection Point

Three forces are converging simultaneously:

Meanwhile, large tech ecosystems - from AR glasses to spatial computing - are investing heavily in neural interfaces. Devices that once measured outward behavior will soon adapt based on internal cognitive states.

NextSense’s platform arrives as the bridge between neuroscience research and everyday applications.


What Comes Next

With fresh Series A capital, NextSense is expected to:

The company’s long-term vision positions the brain as the next major biometric, not for novelty but for continuous cognitive health.

If wearables helped us understand the heart, neurotech will help us understand ourselves.

NextSense is building the infrastructure to make that future real.


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