Bearmind, a Lausanne-based start-up founded in 2021, is dedicated to reducing the risk of long-term brain damage in athletes by controlling the number of concussive impacts they experience during high-impact sports. The company recently closed a CHF 1.3 million seed funding round, which will be used to consolidate efforts towards clinical validation and establishing lasting collaborations within the Swiss National League.
The funding round was led by H.Hentsch Asset Management and included participation from AVANTECA Partners AG, NP Consulting, Swisspreneur, and several business angels. Bearmind, co-founded by Mathieu Falbriard (CEO), Tom Bertrand (MSc EPFL, COO), and Benoît Mariani (Member of the BoD, advisor), focuses on developing wearable devices and software solutions for brain injury prevention and performance optimization in sports.
The start-up’s technology is built on three core pillars: sensors that collect information about the movement of the head inside the helmet, force sensors embedded in the helmet to measure impact intensity and location, and an algorithm that processes the signals to provide objective measurements of the impacts. This innovative approach aims to address the issue of undetected concussions, as 40% of them are not diagnosed due to the reliance on symptom-focused tests that can take hours to manifest.
Bearmind’s journey began with projects conducted at EPFL’s Laboratory for Motion Analysis and Measurement (LMAM) and received an EPFL grant followed by an EPFL-Wyss Center Innogrant to launch the project. The company also previously secured a CHF 100,000 Tech Seed loan from the FIT to support hardware development and sensor ordering.
Moving forward, Bearmind aims to focus on product development, create new partnerships within the field hockey industry, and acquire customers for the upcoming season. The company’s ultimate goal is to obtain medical device certification for its sensors within the next two years, providing real-time concussion risk assessments and cognitive performance monitoring for athletes across various sports, ensuring their long-term well-being and safety.
