A tech startup that specialises in developing pioneering sensors for the next generation of wearable devices has raised £1.9m in a funding round.
Neuranics, a joint spinout from the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh, develops magnetic sensors integrated with semiconductor technology for health, fitness, and metaverse applications.
Its patented technology uses scalable spintronics sensors powered by semiconductors to detect tiny magnetic signals from organs of the body – for example the heart and muscles of the arms, which the company says could transform the current shortcomings of health monitoring devices and human-machine interfaces.
The investment was led by Par Equity with GU Holdings Ltd, the investment company for the University of Glasgow, Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh’s venture investment fund, and London-based Creator Fund, who back scientific founding teams, also joining the pre-seed round.
The company’s magnetocardiography (MCG) sensors are easier to use than traditional electrocardiography (ECG) sensors. In a human-machine interface application the magnetomyography (MMG) sensing system can estimate single finger movements by detecting the magnetic activity of the forearm muscles. These sensors improve the ‘latency issues’ when used to control a robotic hand, or interact with virtual objects in the metaverse.
Neuranics’s chip-scale sensors are low-cost, scalable, low-power, and operate at room temperature, as opposed to the current method of measuring magnetic signals which are characterised by large, complex, expensive, lab or clinic-based equipment.
CEO Noel McKenna said: “Our breakthrough technology will enable much better sensor resolution for human-machine interface, will have huge benefits for health and fitness devices, and also controllers in the metaverse.
“We see global demand for our technology, and we are already working with several Tier 1 consumer electronics groups. We want to be the world’s leading magnetic sensor company, selling our sensor chips or licensing our technology into hundreds of millions of products per annum.”
Robert Higginson, partner, Par Equity, said: “Rarely do we discover both a transformational technology and such a well-rounded team, with whom we can partner over the long-term to create a company capable of radically improving a broad range of use cases in a number of industry verticals. Neuranics’s patented technologies compliment many other technologies developed by our portfolio companies and are a good example of Par Equity’s tough-tech focus.”
Alexandra Ntemourtsidou, director of operations, Creator Fund, said: “Modern hardware represents a significant bottleneck for the wide-scale development of brain-machine technologies. Currently, there’s no practical non-invasive solution that can smoothly transition from lab or clinical settings to power AI systems.
“Neuranics is addressing key practical limitations in magnetic sensing technologies enabling a leap forward in brain signal capture. Neuranics is a great example of the quality of innovation being built at Scottish universities, we are excited to back a joint spinout from Glasgow and Edinburgh at the pre-seed stage.”