Neurotech start-up MindSpire has raised £850,000 in pre-seed funding to support the launch of its first medical-grade wearable, SONA, designed to help users regulate stress, boost focus and unlock peak cognitive performance.

The round was led by SFC Capital, with participation from SyndicateRoom and support from Innovate UK’s Investor Partnership Programme. The funding will enable the London-based company, headquartered at the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE), to complete the development and launch of SONA.

MindSpire aims to make advanced nervous system care both effective and widely accessible. While SONA targets high performers such as executives and athletes, early sales will also fund research into its potential to help people facing real-world challenges including anxiety, long COVID, trauma, burnout and frontline fatigue.

Combining adaptive AI with real-time biometric sensing and vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), SONA delivers precision-coded electrical pulses from the outer ear to the brainstem. These pulses activate brain circuits to rebalance autonomic tone, support neuroplasticity and improve mental resilience. The technology is supported by early clinical studies for stress, tinnitus, Parkinson’s and chronic pain.

“SONA is designed to perform just as well for executives managing stress and recovery as it does for individuals rebuilding from chronic conditions,” said Jane Ollis, founder and CEO of MindSpire. “This reflects our commitment to making nervous system care accessible—especially for those who need it most.”

MindSpire’s AI companion platform, NeuroSphere, personalises stimulation based on user data, goals and heart rate variability (HRV) in real time, offering a dynamic and responsive mental health solution.

Dr. Amir Konigsberg, Chair of MindSpire and expert in artificial intelligence, added: “MindSpire is leading the way in integrating adaptive AI with cutting-edge neuroscience. The potential to deliver personalised interventions that respond instantly to the body’s signals is a true fusion of intelligence and biology.”

Investors echoed their confidence in the company’s mission and potential.

“MindSpire’s technology represents a shift in how we approach mental performance and resilience,” said Adam Beveridge, Investment Executive at SFC Capital.

Tom Britton, Founding Partner at SyndicateRoom, added: “We’re delighted to invest in MindSpire and look forward to the impact they make in treating chronic stress and anxiety.”

Nicolas Huber, COO at LIHE, said: “MindSpire’s fusion of non-invasive neurotechnology and adaptive AI represents a bold leap forward in the future of brain health.”

MindSpire is now building strategic partnerships with health platforms and innovators in stress, sleep, longevity and performance, and is in early conversations with investors ahead of its next funding round.