Actipulse Neuroscience (YC W22)

What Actipulse Neuroscience (YC W22) does

Actipulse Neuroscience is a private, early-stage medical device company founded in 2017 and headquartered across Boston, Massachusetts and Mexico City. The company develops non-invasive brain stimulation hardware intended to deliver therapeutic neuromodulation outside of clinical settings, with an initial focus on at-home treatment of depression and a stated pipeline expansion into neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. The value proposition is built on making brain stimulation therapy more accessible and lower-cost compared to clinic-based alternatives by moving the treatment modality into the patient's home.

The underlying technology is a non-invasive brain stimulation device engineered for safe and simple self-administered home use, distinguishing it from incumbent clinical neurostimulators that require in-clinic operation. Business model details are sparse: the company generates revenue through hardware sales of the device, sold direct-to-consumer to patients and individual users, with pricing not publicly disclosed. The company has not disclosed enterprise customers, contracts, or revenue figures, and the device's regulatory status (FDA pathway, CE mark, or equivalents) is not documented in the available sources.

The company has raised approximately $1.04M across six funding events between 2017 and 2022, including a $500K round as part of Y Combinator's Winter 2022 batch (its largest disclosed raise), earlier support from Start-Up Chile and MassChallenge, and small undisclosed rounds. The leadership team consists of co-founder and CEO Adrien Châtillon, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Gabriel Villafuerte, and Head of New Business Daniel Gomez. Headcount is listed at 11-50 employees. There are no disclosed customers, partnerships beyond YC, certifications, patents, or product launch milestones in the available data.

Name

Actipulse Neuroscience (YC W22)

Website

https://actipulseneuroscience.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Actipulse Neuroscience is an early-stage medical device company developing non-invasive brain stimulation hardware for at-home treatment of depression, with a stated pipeline expansion into Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, sold direct-to-consumer.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Neuromodulation Devices

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Wellness & Stress Management Devices (Biofeedback, Meditation/Neurostimulation Devices) (CRACAQAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Neurologic Rehabilitation (Stroke, TBI, Parkinson’s, MS) (HSADAIAC)

Keywords

• Brain stimulation devices
• Neuromodulation therapeutics
• Mental health treatment
• Neurodegenerative disease therapy
• Home medical devices

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Brain Stimulation Device Sales: The company generates revenue through the sale of non-invasive brain stimulation devices for home use. The model enables treatment of mental health conditions at lower costs, potentially involving device sales with ongoing support or treatment protocols.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Actipulse Neuroscience designs, develops, and sells a non-invasive brain stimulation medical device intended for home-based therapeutic use. The device is positioned to treat mental health conditions, primarily depression, and is being extended in the pipeline to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The company delivers its device directly to patients, enabling self-administered neuromodulation therapy outside of clinical settings at a lower cost than clinic-based brain stimulation treatments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation Device A home-use medical device that delivers non-invasive brain stimulation therapy for treating mental health conditions such as depression at lower costs compared to traditional clinic-based treatments. The device enables self-administered neuromodulation outside of clinical settings, targeting patients seeking accessible and affordable brain stimulation therapy. The company is expanding its pipeline to address neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Neuroelectrics: Boston/Barcelona-based developer of Starstim and Enobio, non-invasive multichannel brain stimulation and EEG systems. Comparable technology stack (tDCS/tACS) with both research and emerging home-use positioning in neurological and psychiatric conditions.
• Neuromod Devices: Irish developer of the Lenire bimodal neuromodulation device for tinnitus, FDA De Novo cleared. Comparable regulatory pathway (De Novo for a novel neuromodulation indication) and patient-administered non-invasive delivery model.
• Electrocore: Commercial-stage non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) company with FDA-cleared gammaCore device for migraine and cluster headache. Comparable non-invasive, patient-administered neuromodulation business model in adjacent neurological indications.

Direct peers

• Flow Neuroscience: Swedish company developing a prescription at-home transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) headset for depression. Closest direct competitor to Actipulse, sharing the same home-use, non-invasive, depression-first value proposition and regulatory pathway.
• Soterix Medical: Developer of non-invasive brain stimulation and neuromonitoring technologies, including tDCS, tACS, and HD-tDCS systems used in research and clinical trials. Directly comparable modality and product architecture, with stronger research-channel traction.
• Caputron: U.S. retailer and distributor of consumer and clinical-grade tDCS, TMS, and neurostimulation devices from multiple manufacturers. Comparable product category (consumer brain stimulation hardware) and similar DTC orientation, but operates as a multi-brand channel rather than a therapeutic product company.

Broad incumbents

• LivaNova (VNS Therapy): Global medical device company with Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) Therapy, an implantable neuromodulation system FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression and epilepsy. Overlaps on neuromodulation modality and depression indication, with mature regulatory and reimbursement infrastructure.
• Neuronetics (NeuroStar): U.S. leader in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for treatment-resistant depression, with the FDA-cleared NeuroStar system delivered in clinics. Comparable target indication and modality (non-invasive brain stimulation for depression), but operating in the clinical, in-clinic segment.
• Magstim: Long-standing UK-based manufacturer of TMS stimulators and coils used in clinical research and psychiatric practice. Adjacent in modality (non-invasive brain stimulation) and indication focus, with deep neuroscience channel presence.
• Brainsway: Israel-based developer of deep TMS systems FDA-cleared for depression, OCD, and smoking cessation. Competes with Actipulse on the same target indications and overlapping neurostimulation technology, with established clinical evidence and reimbursement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors3 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 Actipulse Neuroscience (YC W22)