A NeuroAI startup founded by a pioneer of Face ID has successfully raised $52 million.

      One of the innovators behind Apple’s Face ID aims to apply AI to a more complex subject than just a face; he wants to analyze the brain. His startup, Hemispheric, has emerged from stealth mode with $52 million in funding. This Tel Aviv-based company identifies itself as a NeuroAI firm, proposing the concept that brain tests should be as commonplace as blood tests.

      The founders present a unique duo: Hagai Lalazar, a computational neuroscientist serving as CEO, and Gidi Littwin, who co-founded RealFace and played a role in the development of Face ID, now acting as CTO. Littwin also contributed to the AI technology for Apple’s Vision Pro.

      Their technology, named Descartes, boasts 6 billion parameters and has been trained on 250,000 hours of brain recordings from over 100,000 individuals. Hemispheric claims this is among the largest datasets of its kind.

      The test itself is non-invasive; a patient wears a dry EEG headset for 15 minutes while engaging in tasks on a phone, as reported by WIRED. Descartes processes the brain’s electrical signals and converts them into quantifiable data for doctors to utilize.

      The focus is on conditions that are typically challenging to measure objectively. Hemispheric highlights issues such as depression, PTSD, mild brain injuries, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s, most of which are currently assessed through questionnaires and interviews.

      This approach stands in sharp contrast to Neuralink, the most prominent name in the field. Elon Musk’s Neuralink involves surgically implanting devices in the skull, while Hemispheric, similar to China’s BrainCo, anticipates that brain technology will be wearable rather than installed through surgical procedures.

      The funding round attracted a diverse group of investors, including Hanaco Ventures, Protocol Labs, L Catterton, and Scott Belsky, founder of Behance.

      This fundraising is part of a broader influx of investment into AI healthcare. Neko Health recently secured $700 million for body scanning technology, Chai Discovery raised $400 million for AI-based drug design, and an OpenAI researcher transitioned to establish a $2 billion drug startup.

      Hemispheric has already presented Descartes to the FDA and aims to introduce it in both the US and Europe. However, the industry remains cautious due to medical AI's past difficulties in hospitals, and a model that aids in brain diagnoses will encounter significant scrutiny. Currently, the company possesses funding, expertise, and ambitious aspirations.