"The Austrian startup Brightmind.AI is developing a new way to treat migraines. The founding team of Florian Lerchbammer-Kreith (CEO) and Tamara Gerbert (CSO) aims to bring a so-called Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) solution to the market as a wearable for everyday use. Migraine patients should wear a therapy headset for a short period of time per day and thus be able to reduce the number of migraine attacks by at least over 50 percent. The device is said to be “self-learning” – i.e. it personalizes the stimulation to the current state of the brain of the individual. Specifically, EEG and other biofeedback are measured in order to continuously improve the therapy device."

Brightmind.AI is delighted to announce that it was listed as one of two rising stars in the European start-up scene of MedTech. 103 other exceptional early stage start-ups were were selected on the watchlist of Sifted and analyse alongside Brightmind.AI in the MedTech.

“It was actually a very rational decision to move to Vienna,” Lerchbammer-Kreith says. “The public grants and the low living costs are great. But there’s also a lot of life science understanding and neuroscience companies that have been willing to help. Plus, Austria’s willingness to support really challenging research has made it a very attractive place for startups like ours.” Fast-forward a year, and Brightmind.AI has built an international team, with employees from the US, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, France and Italy. It received its first term sheet for more than €500k in the first month of establishing the company, followed by a further €800k from the Austrian government a few months later.

Brightmind.AI funds 860k research project in 2023.

At Brightmind.AI, one does not want to limit oneself to migraine therapy. Further devices for the treatment of depression, in stroke rehabilitation or dementia are to follow. A stimulation headset can also be used to optimize the performance of the brain. "Today, in 10 years, everyone should have a Brightmind device at home that is tailored to their needs," says Lerchbammer-Kreith.

We are very pleased to be announced as the winners for the ‘Innovator of the Year’ Start-up award from Brutkasten, Austrias platform for Innovation in 2022. This is quite the honor as we were only founded that year, especially considering our very strong competition! We are excited to see so many voters share our passion to bring closed-loop NIBS to prevent migraine attacks.

“Man kann sich das vorstellen, wie die Kopfhörer, die viele am Arbeitsplatz tragen. Wir setzen im Kopfteil unseres Headsets eine Magnetspule ein, die das Gehirn stimuliert. Bisher standen für diese Behandlungsform riesige Maschinen in der Neurologieabteilung eines Krankenhauses herum. Wir machen die Maschine klein und bringen sie zum Patienten/zur Patientin nach Hause”, erklärt Lerchbammer-Kreith. Besagtes Gerät trägt man im Alltag, während das Gehirn mit Magnetimpulsen stimuliert wird. Bei der sogenannten nicht-invasiven Hirnstimulation sei es wichtig, täglich zu stimulieren - sowohl um Migräneattacken zu minimieren, als auch um notwendige Hirndaten zu sammeln.

Our valued partners, the Xista Venture Capital invested a foundational pre-seed. The photo was taken with Ingrid Kelly Spillmann and our Co-Founders on the day of joint incorporation.