Apple Acquires Neural Sensor Startup Sonera [Report]

Apple has acquired Sonera, a California startup developing chip-based magnetic sensors that can detect brain and muscle activity without direct skin contact, according to a filing published in the European Commission's Digital Markets Act acquisition database.



The May 8 filing describes the transaction as an acquisition of certain Sonera assets through an Apple subsidiary, alongside offers of employment to some of the startup's employees. Apple has not announced the deal, and Sonera's website has been taken offline.


Sonera explained in 2023 that neural and muscle activity generate both electrical currents and magnetic fields. It said electrical signals are heavily attenuated by human tissue and require electrodes in direct contact with the skin, while magnetic fields travel more easily through tissue and can be measured without contact. The company's stated goal was to make brain activity as easy to measure as heart rate or temperature.

Nishita Deka and Dominic Labanowski founded Sonera in 2018 after meeting as graduate students at UC Berkeley. It emerged from stealth in 2023 with an $11 million seed round led by Amplify Partners. That followed an initial raise in 2020 led by Spark Capital and brought its total funding, including government grants, to $20 million.

The company's first planned product was the S1, a chip designed to detect muscle activity by reading the magnetic fields produced during muscle movement. It began with muscle sensing because those signals are simpler and stronger than brain activity, making them a stepping stone toward a brain sensor.

The chip was pitched for gesture control in smartwatches, rings, and other wearable devices. The company also identified potential applications including advanced prosthetics control, continuous monitoring of neuromuscular conditions, disease biomarker discovery, and sports performance tracking.


Wearables are among the product categories used to describe Apple's business in the EU filing, matching one of the intended markets for the S1. In January, Apple paid nearly $2 billion for Israeli AI startup Q.AI, another acquisition connected to future wearable devices.

Apple has made several other unannounced acquisitions this year, including data management startup SigScalr in July and Czech materials science firm PlasmaSolve in August.