What Winterlight Labs does

Winterlight Labs is a Toronto-based digital health company, founded in 2015 and spun out of the University of Toronto, that builds proprietary speech-analysis technology to detect and monitor cognitive impairment from short (1-5 minute) recorded speech samples. The platform combines natural language processing, computational linguistics, cognitive neuroscience and machine learning to extract 550+ acoustic and linguistic features (e.g., informativeness, coherence, repetition, preposition/pronoun use, speaking rate, pauses, filled pauses, spectral composition) and produce speech-based digital biomarkers for conditions including Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, mild cognitive impairment, Parkinson's, ALS, depression, schizophrenia and hepatic encephalopathy. Multi-language linguistic analysis is supported across English, French, Spanish and German via the Universal Dependencies framework. The product surface comprises the Winterlight Assessment (a tablet- or device-based cognitive assessment for in-clinic or remote use), a Speech Analysis API (waitlist-based) for partners with existing speech data, and a Clinical Assessment Ratings Quality Assurance service that automates 100% review of clinical assessment administration and scoring (ADAS-Cog, CDR, MMSE, MoCA, PANSS, HAM-D).

Winterlight's go-to-market is predominantly enterprise sales to pharmaceutical and life sciences customers (the company states it is "trusted by five of the top ten Life Sciences companies"), with named deployments across a dozen clinical trials at Genentech, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Alector, Vivoryon Therapeutics, Cortexyme and Pear Therapeutics. Revenue is generated through clinical research collaborations (professional services for site onboarding, data collection, analysis and interpretation), technology licensing (e.g., Pear Therapeutics for prescription digital therapeutics), and prospective API subscriptions. Senior care pilots (e.g., Revera) and academic collaborations (University of Toronto, Amsterdam UMC, McMaster, CAMH, Sunnybrook, University of Michigan) serve as validation and data-collection channels rather than primary monetization. In November 2019 the company closed a CAD 5.6M oversubscribed Series A led by Hikma Ventures; in January 2023 Cambridge Cognition Holdings Plc acquired Winterlight for approximately $8.6M, integrating it as a wholly owned subsidiary with combined capabilities in screen-based, structured voice-based and free-speech-based cognitive assessment.

Name

Winterlight Labs

Legal name

Winterlight Labs, Inc.

Website

https://winterlightlabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Winterlight Labs builds AI-powered speech analysis technology that extracts 550+ acoustic and linguistic features from short speech samples to detect and monitor cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's, FTD, depression, schizophrenia and related conditions, sold primarily to top pharmaceutical and life sciences companies for use as clinical trial endpoints.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Trial Digital Biomarkers

NAICS

Medical Laboratories (621511)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Neurological Monitoring (EEG, Seizure/Sleep/Neuro Wearables) (HLAHACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Speech Recognition, Dictation & Medical Transcription Platforms (HLACAAAI)

Keywords

• Speech-based digital biomarkers
• Cognitive assessment technology
• Clinical trial endpoints
• Voice biomarker analysis
• Neurological disease detection

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Clinical research collaborations with life sciences / pharmaceutical companies: Winterlight supports life science partners throughout clinical trials with site onboarding, data collection, speech analysis and results interpretation. The Winterlight Assessment is deployed in a dozen clinical trials spanning Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia; described as generating revenue from pharma and life sciences customers (e.g., Genentech, Janssen, Alector, Vivoryon, Cortexyme).
2. Technology licensing (e.g., Pear Therapeutics): Pear Therapeutics licensed Winterlight's machine learning-based voice digital biomarkers to develop and clinically validate digital biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease, depression, insomnia, schizophrenia, opioid use disorder, and substance use disorder — speech-based biomarkers to titrate dose and modify treatment within prescription digital therapeutics.
3. Speech Analysis API access: Partners access clinically validated speech-based biomarkers via API; can be used to receive analyses for speech data already collected, or to integrate Winterlight Assessment into apps or devices that continuously collect speech. (Public pricing not disclosed; waitlist sign-up required.)
4. Clinical Assessment Quality Assurance (Ratings QA) services: Automated quality review of 100% of clinical assessments in trials (Audio QA, Content QA, Clinical Scoring) for assessments such as ADAS-Cog, CDR, MMSE, MoCA, PANSS, HAM-D.

Go-to-market motion5 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Winterlight Labs builds a speech-analysis platform that extracts 550+ acoustic and linguistic features from short (1-5 minute) speech samples to produce digital biomarkers for detecting and monitoring cognitive impairment associated with dementia, Alzheimer's, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson's, ALS, depression, schizophrenia and other neurological and psychiatric conditions. Its core products are the tablet-based Winterlight Assessment, a Speech Analysis API, and a Clinical Assessment Ratings Quality Assurance service used in CNS clinical trials run by life sciences partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Winterlight Assessment A tablet-based cognitive assessment that analyzes short snippets of natural speech to detect and monitor cognitive impairment associated with dementia, Alzheimer's, aphasia, frontotemporal dementia, depression and other conditions. It extracts over 550 acoustic and linguistic features, supports customizable tasks, and can be administered in clinic or remotely on a patient's own device, with reported accuracy of 82%-100% in peer-reviewed studies. Used by life sciences partners as a clinical trial endpoint and by senior care operators for cognitive screening.
• Winterlight Speech Analysis API API allowing partners and developers to either submit speech data they have already collected for analysis or embed the Winterlight Assessment within their own application or device that continuously collects speech, returning clinically validated speech-based biomarker outputs in English, French, Spanish, and German.
• Clinical Assessment Ratings Quality Assurance Automated quality review service for clinical assessments administered in clinical trials (including ADAS-Cog, CDR, MMSE, MoCA, PANSS, HAM-D), providing audio QA, content QA and clinical scoring, including rater identification across visits and detection of duplicate participant enrolment.

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship — parent company and acquirer, core / flagship, core, minor and major.

• Cambridge Cognitionflagship — parent company and acquirerStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 January 2023Cambridge Cognition acquired Winterlight Labs in January 2023 to lead in voice and digital biomarkers for clinical trials. The combined organization offers screen-based, structured voice-based and free-speech based cognitive assessments. Cambridge Cognition stated it would welcome 28 new colleagues from Winterlight, bringing together proprietary free-speech analysis technology with Cambridge Cognition's existing short structured verbal cognitive assessments.
• Genentech (Roche Group)core / flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 October 2022Multi-year collaboration on Alzheimer's disease speech biomarker research using data from Genentech's Tauriel trial of semorinemab in early-stage AD (NCT03289143). Winterlight's platform processed recordings of conventional Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) administrations from 101 patients, generating 500+ acoustic and linguistic markers combined into a composite speech score that showed comparable utility to CDR Sum of Boxes and ADAS-Cog. Also presented research at ADPD 2022 (March 2022) linking speech characteristics to cerebral tau accumulation measured by tau PET imaging.
• Alzheimer Center Amsterdam (Amsterdam UMC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2022Collaboration (funded by Dutch Ministry of Health via Health~Holland) to decentralize patient assessments in preclinical Alzheimer's research. Alzheimer Center Amsterdam will develop a remote measurement toolbox integrating Winterlight's digital speech assessments to capture subtle changes in cognitive health in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease. Jessica Robin (Director, Clinical Research) and Liam Kaufman (CEO) lead the Winterlight side; Sietske Sikkes (Associate Professor) leads at Amsterdam UMC.
• McMaster University (Dr. Flavio Kapczinski)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2021Collaboration to assess whether vocal biomarkers can help detect individuals with mood disorders and suicide risk, conducted in partnership with Dr. Flavio Kapczinski and team from the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences. Enhances Winterlight's research program for developing and validating digital speech measures in mood disorders.
• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) — Dr. Farooq Naeem & Dr. Anthony YeungminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2021Winterlight technology used in a study exploring speech as a predictor of psychotic relapse in young adults with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Participants are followed over a year to characterize speech/language changes relative to fluctuating clinical symptoms.
• Sunnybrook Research Institute (Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation) — Dr. Jenny RabinminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2021Collaboration to examine how speech is affected in individuals with essential tremor. Dr. Rabin's team uses the Winterlight speech assessment before and after magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound treatment to discover novel insights into how speech is affected by essential tremor and treatments for the condition.
• University of Michigan — Dr. Patricia BloomminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2021Collaboration to study speech patterns in patients with cirrhosis longitudinally, building on prior work showing slowed speech occurs in hepatic encephalopathy. Dr. Bloom's research group determines whether at-home speech assessments can monitor patient health and predict episodes of overt hepatic encephalopathy.
• Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 April 2021Winterlight Labs participated in DiMe's "Tour of Duty" alongside other leading organizations in life sciences, healthcare, technology and regulatory affairs to develop 100+ new resources for the Digital Clinical Measures Playbook, advancing adoption of digital clinical measures in clinical research and practice.
• Vivoryon TherapeuticscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2020Winterlight Labs' speech assessment is used as an exploratory parameter in Vivoryon Therapeutics' Phase 2b VIVIAD clinical trial of PQ912 in early Alzheimer's disease, alongside EEG and blood-based biomarkers from Nordic Bioscience, to strengthen PQ912's data package with innovative, less invasive diagnostic tools.
• Pear TherapeuticsmajorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 7 January 2020Pear Therapeutics licensed Winterlight's machine learning-based voice digital biomarkers to develop and clinically validate digital biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease, depression, insomnia, schizophrenia, opioid use disorder and substance use disorder. The biomarkers will be embedded within Pear's prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs) to titrate dose and modify treatment type.
• AlectorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 July 2019Developing vocal biomarkers for monitoring disease progression in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients. Deployed Winterlight's speech-based digital biomarker across two projects: an ongoing year-long observational study with caregiver-administered tablet assessments, and development of FTD-specific biomarkers as an exploratory endpoint in Alector's upcoming Phase 2 clinical trial for AL001.
• Janssen Pharmaceuticals (Johnson & Johnson)core / flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2019Collaboration (facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC) to develop a sensitive digital biomarker distinguishing patients with mild cognitive impairment (early stage Alzheimer's) from healthy elderly subjects. Winterlight also participated in a 2017 J&J feasibility study with Janssen R&D to evaluate performance of its algorithms on speech samples collected in Janssen clinical trials in Alzheimer's and neurodegenerative diseases.
• CortexymeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 October 2018Cortexyme used Winterlight's cognitive assessment in its Phase 1B clinical trial for Alzheimer's disease (COR388, a bacterial protease inhibitor). Winterlight's assessment detected statistically significant improvements from baseline to endpoint in the treatment group (n=6) where MMSE and CANTAB measures did not, demonstrating the platform's sensitivity in clinical trials.
• ReveraminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 January 2018Winterlight joined Revera's Innovators in Aging program to pilot its speech-based cognitive assessment at one of Revera's senior care homes in Toronto with 50 participants over 6 months. Pilot funded via the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Health Technology Fund (HTF). Each participant received the Winterlight assessment once per month plus gold-standard pen-and-paper assessments at months 1 and 6.
• Johnson & Johnson JLABS @ TorontocoreOthers · 1 January 2017Winterlight Labs joined JLABS @ Toronto, a 40,000 square-foot life science innovation center run on a "no strings attached" model (J&J Innovation takes no equity stake). JLABS @ Toronto provided flexible lab infrastructure to support Winterlight's development and commercialization.
• AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE)minorOthers · 26 July 2016Pan-Canadian research network that supported Winterlight Labs from inception and hosted the startup pitch competition Winterlight won in 2016 ("Technology to Support People with Dementia").
• Ontario Brain InstituteminorOthers · 1 January 2015Listed as a supporter / partner organization on Winterlight Labs' homepage. The Ontario Brain Institute has supported Winterlight's development as a Toronto-based neuroscience technology company.
• MaRS Discovery DistrictOthers · 1 January 2015

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Signant Health: Signant Health is a large clinical trial technology provider offering eCOA, rater training, and quality assurance services (including from the MedAvante-ProPhase acquisition) for CNS trials. It competes with Winterlight's Ratings Quality Assurance product and broader CNS trial endpoint portfolio.
• Verily Life Sciences: Verily (an Alphabet company) develops digital biomarkers and clinical research tools across multiple therapeutic areas including neurodegeneration and psychiatry, making it a broad incumbent competitor in pharma-facing digital endpoint technology.
• Cambridge Cognition: Cambridge Cognition acquired Winterlight in January 2023 and is now the parent company. As a broader incumbent, it offers CANTAB-based screen-based and structured voice cognitive assessments to life sciences customers, directly overlapping with Winterlight's clinical research product line.

Direct peers

• Altoida: Altoida is a digital biomarker company that uses AI-driven cognitive assessments (including AR-based and speech-based tasks) to detect early Alzheimer's and other neurological conditions, targeting pharma clinical trials and clinical use — closely comparable to Winterlight's CNS digital biomarker offering.
• Cogstate: Cogstate provides computerized cognitive assessment tools for clinical trials and healthcare, including CANTAB. Like Winterlight, it sells validated digital cognitive endpoints to top-tier pharma and offers both screen-based and remote assessment capabilities, making it a direct competitor for CNS clinical trial endpoint contracts.
• BrainCheck: BrainCheck provides digital cognitive assessment software using tablet-based tests to detect and monitor cognitive impairment across dementia, concussion, and other indications, with both clinical and clinical research applications — overlapping directly with Winterlight's tablet-based cognitive assessment product.
• Linus Health: Linus Health offers AI-powered digital cognitive assessments that combine speech, drawing, and tablet-based tasks to detect early signs of cognitive impairment and dementia. It serves both healthcare providers and clinical research customers in the same CNS digital biomarker category as Winterlight.

Emerging players

• Cumulus Neuroscience: Cumulus Neuroscience provides a remote, multimodal digital biomarker platform (combining speech, cognition, and other assessments) for CNS clinical trials in Alzheimer's, depression, and other indications — closely comparable to Winterlight's decentralized speech assessment capabilities.
• Savonix: Savonix offers a digital neurocognitive assessment platform that uses tablet-based tests to evaluate cognition in clinical and research settings. It is an emerging player with overlapping capabilities in digital cognitive screening and CNS assessment, competing for similar clinical research customers.
• Pear Therapeutics: Pear Therapeutics licensed Winterlight's voice digital biomarkers to embed in prescription digital therapeutics across CNS indications. While a customer rather than a direct competitor, Pear is a comparable emerging digital therapeutics player operating in overlapping CNS indications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/winterlightlabs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/winterlight-labs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Winterlight Labs