truBrain

What truBrain does

truBrain is a privately held, direct-to-consumer cognitive nutrition company founded in 2012 in Santa Monica, California, that designs and sells drinkable nootropic supplements, ketone shots, capsules, gummies, and related functional wellness products. Its formulations are developed by UCLA-trained PhD neuroscientists, including co-founder Dr. Andrew Hill, and are validated through in-house EEG brainwave analysis and IRB-approved double-blind, placebo-controlled studies conducted at the company's Los Angeles lab. The core technology combines amino acids, functional mushrooms, and exogenous ketones (R-1,3-butanediol) at specified dosages, with patent-pending recipes targeting focus, memory, stress resilience, and athletic endurance.

The company operates a subscription-led e-commerce model on trubrain.com, selling to consumers in over 80 countries and shipping more than 10 million drinks cumulatively since inception. Products are priced at $39-$149 per monthly subscription across categories (Drinkable Nootropics, Ketone XL, Nootropic Gummies, Clockwise NAD+, Capsules, Daily Greens, Morning Mushrooms, Hydration), with a customizable Build Your Own Box option. Revenue mechanics combine recurring subscription revenue (with 25-40% savings vs. one-time purchases and free U.S. shipping), one-time purchases, and trial packs ($39 for 10 drinks) used as customer acquisition vehicles. TruBrain has raised approximately $2.5M across disclosed rounds from 4 venture capital firms (Blueberry Ventures, Brightstone Venture Capital, Sherpa Capital, StartEngine) and a community of 3,000+ individual investors via equity crowdfunding on StartEngine at $0.43/share ($TB symbol).

TruBrain serves a horizontally segmented customer base spanning professionals and knowledge workers, athletes (NFL, MLB, NHL, triathletes), health-conscious adults, and military personnel across 70+ bases worldwide. Go-to-market relies on influencer endorsements (Joe Rogan, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Rob Gronkowski, Ben Greenfield), earned media (Forbes, CNBC, CBS), and DTC e-commerce. The company self-describes as profitable and employs 1-10 people, operating with the lean cost structure of a niche premium supplement brand rather than a venture-backed scale-up.

Name

truBrain

Legal name

TruBrain

Website

https://trubrain.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

truBrain is a Santa Monica-based DTC cognitive nutrition company founded in 2012 that designs drinkable nootropics, ketone shots, capsules, and supplements formulated by UCLA neuroscientists and validated via EEG brainwave testing, sold by subscription to consumers in 80+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cognitive Supplements

NAICS

Food (Health) Supplement Retailers (456191)

SIC

Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthy Aging & Cognitive Support Supplements (CRADAGAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Functional Foods & Supplement Formats (Gummies, Chews, Powders, Shots) (CRADAGAI), Functional Shot Production (Wellness/Immunity/Focus Shots) (AFAFAFAI), Herbal & Botanical Supplements (CRADAGAD), Sleep, Stress & Mood Support (HLAIADAG)

Keywords

• Drinkable nootropics
• Cognitive supplements
• Exogenous ketones
• Brain health supplements
• Nootropic beverages

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Plans: Monthly subscription model offering 25-40% savings compared to one-time purchases. Subscribers receive free U.S. shipping and can pause, adjust, or cancel anytime. Core revenue driver with predictable recurring revenue.
2. One-Time Product Sales: Direct purchase of individual products and trial packs without subscription commitment. Trial pack at $39 for 10 drinks allows customer acquisition before subscription conversion.
3. Bundle Packages: Pre-configured product bundles offering savings (20%+ off) combining complementary products like drinks with capsules, ketones, or brain aging supplements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

truBrain designs, manufactures, and sells drinkable nootropic and ketone supplements formulated by UCLA-trained neuroscientists. The portfolio includes 1oz nootropic shots in seven formulas (Sleep, Mellow, Matcha, Mushrooms, Medium, Strong, Extra Strong), Ketone XL energy shots, capsules, mushroom gummies, NAD+ brain aging supplements, mushroom coffee alternatives, daily greens, and hydration products. Products are validated through EEG brainwave analysis and sold primarily through a direct-to-consumer subscription model with one-time purchase options.

Product overview

TruBrain is a high-performance nutrition company offering a portfolio of nootropic and ketone-based supplements designed by UCLA-trained neuroscientists. The core product line includes drinkable 1oz nootropic shots in 7 personalized formulas (Sleep, Mellow, Matcha, Mushrooms, Medium, Strong, Extra Strong), Ketone XL energy shots for athletic performance, daily mushroom gummies with functional mushrooms, and NAD+ brain aging supplements (Clockwise). Additional offerings include capsules, morning mushroom coffee alternative, daily greens powder (75 ingredients), hydration support, coffee kit with focus sticks, and portable powder sticks. The company validates product efficacy through EEG brainwave analysis and third-party clinical studies. Products are sold via subscription with a customizable Build Your Own Box option, as well as pre-configured bundles. Founded in 2012, TruBrain has shipped over 10 million drinks worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 20% Better cognitive performance under stress compared to placebo
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Unilever-affiliated Brands (Onnit Labs)minorOthersListed as a market participant in nootropics industry alongside TruBrain, but not a formal partnership.
• Entheon BiomedicalminorOthersListed as a market participant in nootropics industry, not a formal partnership with TruBrain.
• OmniActive Health TechnologiesminorOthersListed as a market participant in nootropics industry, not a formal partnership with TruBrain.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Care/of: Care/of pioneered the personalized vitamin/supplement D2C subscription model; it overlaps truBrain on personalization mechanics and audience (knowledge workers) even though its formulation philosophy is broader-stack nutrition rather than nootropics-first.
• AG1 (Athletic Greens): AG1 is a daily-nutrition subscription powder positioned in the same cognitive-wellness/premium-supplements orbit as truBrain; it competes for the same knowledge-worker and athlete D2C subscriber wallet, but at a much larger revenue scale and broader distribution.

Direct peers

• HVMN (now Momentous): HVMN popularized exogenous ketone drinks (Ketone-IQ/ester formulations) overlapping directly with truBrain's Ketone XL R-1,3-butanediol shots; both target biohacker and endurance-athlete consumers with evidence-led ketone products.
• Thesis: Thesis offers personalized nootropic blends via a quiz-driven D2C subscription, closely mirroring truBrain's Build-Your-Own drinks personalization and 'nootropics for focus' positioning.
• Mind Lab Pro (Opti-Nutra): Mind Lab Pro is a flagship capsule/powder nootropic stack targeting exactly the same focus, memory, and mood claims as truBrain, sold through D2C and Amazon channels as a higher-velocity nootropics SKU.
• Neurohacker Collective (Qualia): Qualia Mind/Qualia Nootropic formulations target the same cognitive-performance and healthy-aging positioning as truBrain's nootropic shots and Clockwise NAD+, with a premium subscription-led D2C model built on branded-ingredient stacks.
• Onnit Labs: Onnit is a direct competitor in the nootropics and supplement space with a flagship Alpha Brain nootropic line, similar D2C+retail model, and shared Joe Rogan endorsement halo, making it the closest head-to-head peer to truBrain.

Others

• Life Time Living (Life Time / LTH): Life Time has been publicly linked to truBrain via the nootropic LTH brand and joint athletes/military channels; it functions as both a customer/distribution adjacency and a thematic peer in the premium-performance-supplements space.

Emerging players

• Momentous: Momentous is a premium sports and cognitive supplement brand (creatine, omega-3, nootropics) overlapping truBrain's athlete and high-performer segment with similar science-led branding and influencer marketing.
• Beam (Mushroom Coffee / Superfoods): Beam competes most directly with truBrain's Morning Mushrooms and Daily Greens SKUs in the functional-mushroom and greens-powder subscription category, leveraging similar D2C positioning and influencer-driven acquisition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/truBrain
• Facebookfacebook.com/364036327046541
• Instagraminstagram.com/trubrain
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3012617

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors5 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 truBrain