Brainteaser

What Brainteaser does

Brainteaser is a European Union Horizon 2020-funded data science research project (grant agreement No GA101017598) that ran from 2020 to June 2025, coordinated by Universidad Politécnica de Madrid with scientific coordination from the University of Padova. It developed artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to support patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) and the clinicians who treat them, combining large curated clinical datasets from institutions in Italy, Portugal, and Spain with daily sensor data from a Patient App, environmental exposure data, and a project-developed ontology for standardization. Its technical outputs include AI models for patient stratification, prognosis prediction, and disease progression simulation; a Patient App and a Healthcare Professional App co-designed with end users; a federated learning infrastructure enabling privacy-preserving cross-institutional model training; and curated shared datasets covering approximately 2,250 ALS patients (7,536 visits) and 1,800 MS patients.

The project operated as a research consortium rather than a commercial enterprise, with no product pricing, no commercial sales channel, and revenue derived entirely from the EU Horizon 2020 grant. Its go-to-market motion was community-led, anchored by the annual iDPP@CLEF open evaluation challenges (2022–2024) under the CLEF Initiative, joint webinars with peer projects (Lethe, HEREDITARY), alignment with pan-European initiatives (Precision ALS, MND-SWIFTT, ENCALS), and open-access publication of datasets, deliverables, and AI models for the research community. The project formally concluded on June 3, 2025, at a final event co-located with the ENCALS 2025 conference in Turin, Italy, transitioning its outputs to an open-science legacy with InSilicoTrials Technologies engaged to explore post-project sustainability.

Name

Brainteaser

Legal name

Brainteaser

Website

https://brainteaser.health

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brainteaser is an EU Horizon 2020-funded research consortium (2020–2025) that built AI/ML models, federated learning infrastructure, and patient/clinician apps to predict disease progression in ALS and MS, serving clinical institutions and patients across Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare AI Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLALAGAC

Neurology Telemedicine Platforms

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Telehealth Platforms/Specialty Telemedicine Platforms (e.g., dermatology, cardiology, neurology)

SECONDARYHLAAALAO

Digital & AI-Enabled Diagnostics (algorithmic interpretation, decision support tied to assays)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Biotechnology & Biologics/Diagnostics (Biotech-related)

SECONDARYHDAAAGAI

Healthcare & Wellness Personalization

Hardware, Technology & Telecom/Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning/Recommender Systems & Personalization

Keywords

• Neurodegenerative disease research
• AI disease progression prediction
• Digital health monitoring
• Federated learning healthcare
• ALS MS clinical research

Headquarters

HQ city

Madrid

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grant Funding: BRAINTEASER is funded under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No GA101017598. This is a grant-funded research project, not a commercial enterprise generating revenue from products or services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Brainteaser is a Horizon 2020-funded data science research project that develops AI and machine learning tools to support patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and multiple sclerosis (MS) and their clinicians. The project delivers a Patient App and Healthcare Professional App for remote sensor-based monitoring, AI models for disease progression prediction and patient stratification, and openly available curated datasets built from clinical, lifestyle, environmental, and sensor data collected across Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

Product overview

BRAINTEASER is a Horizon 2020-funded data science project that functions as a research platform rather than a commercial product. It combines a Patient App and Healthcare Professional App with AI models for disease progression prediction in ALS and MS patients. The project also organizes the annual iDPP@CLEF open evaluation challenges and provides shared datasets for the research community. Technical solutions follow agile, user-centered approaches integrating cost-efficient sensors, clinical data, and environmental data to support precision medicine for neurodegenerative diseases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Patient App A mobile application co-designed with end users for patients with ALS and MS to track health data, submit self-assessments (such as ALSFRS-R questionnaires), and enable remote sensor-based monitoring of disease progression.
• Healthcare Professional App A clinical application for neurologists and clinicians treating ALS and MS patients that supports patient monitoring, AI-generated disease progression predictions, and access to integrated datasets for patient management and care decisions.
• BRAINTEASER AI Disease Progression Models Machine learning models developed for patient stratification, prognosis prediction, and disease progression simulation in ALS and MS patients, using integrated clinical datasets, sensor data, and environmental exposures.
• iDPP@CLEF Challenge Annual open evaluation challenge series (2022-2024) providing datasets and evaluation infrastructure for AI researchers to develop and benchmark intelligent disease progression prediction algorithms for ALS and MS under the CLEF Initiative umbrella.
• BRAINTEASER Shared Datasets Highly curated datasets built from a project-developed ontology, including ALS clinical data from ~2,250 patients and MS data from ~1,800 patients with longitudinal follow-up, wearable sensor readings, environmental and pollution data, collected from institutions in Italy, Portugal, and Spain.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI models developed for patient stratification, prognosis prediction, and disease progression simulation for ALS and MS
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and moderate.

• Lethe ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Joint webinar on federated learning for neurodegenerative disease research conducted in 2025. Both projects share methodologies for privacy-preserving machine learning approaches.
• HEREDITARY ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Joint webinar on federated learning conducted with Brainteaser and Lethe projects. Collaboration on advancing AI models for neurodegenerative disease research.
• Precision ALSmoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Pan-European initiative using AI to accelerate clinical research. Alignment at ENCALS 2025 conference for cross-project dialogue on AI in neurology and digital health.
• MND-SWIFTTminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Working group promoting digital technologies in motor neuron disease research and care. Sessions aligned at ENCALS 2025 for cross-project collaboration.
• ENCALS (European Network to Cure ALS)moderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025ENCALS 2025 Meeting hosted the BRAINTEASER final event as a satellite session. Premier annual gathering of European ALS researchers.
• InSilicoTrials TechnologiesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Company represented by Vincenzo Carbone, PhD, who outlined strategies for ensuring sustainability and future uptake of BRAINTEASER's tools post-project.
• Global Health ConnectorminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Organization represented by Natalia Allegretti who chaired the final event. Contributed to project dissemination and community engagement.
• CLEF InitiativemoderateStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Conference and Labs of the Evaluation Forum - internationally renowned campaign series. BRAINTEASER organizes its open evaluation challenges (iDPP@CLEF) under the CLEF Initiative umbrella, providing scientific soundness and international reach.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• HEREDITARY Project: Sister EU Horizon 2020 project on AI for neurodegenerative disease research. Collaborates with Brainteaser on federated learning webinars and shares methodology for privacy-preserving machine learning across institutions.
• Precision ALS: Pan-European initiative applying AI to accelerate ALS clinical research, directly named partner at ENCALS 2025. Comparable in disease focus (ALS), AI methodology, and pan-European institutional structure to Brainteaser.
• MND-SWIFTT: Working group promoting digital technologies in motor neuron disease research and care, aligned with Brainteaser at ENCALS 2025. Direct overlap in MND/ALS focus, digital health tooling, and European research-community scope.
• Lethe Project: Sister EU Horizon 2020 project developing federated learning and AI for dementia and cognitive decline. Direct methodological overlap with Brainteaser's federated learning architecture, privacy-preserving multi-institution AI, and neurodegenerative disease focus (joint webinar collaboration).

Broad incumbents

• Tempus Labs: AI-driven precision medicine platform integrating multi-modal clinical and molecular data at scale. Comparable in AI-driven clinical decision support and patient stratification but covers a broader disease portfolio including oncology, with established commercial deployment capabilities.
• Owkin: Commercial leader in federated learning for healthcare AI across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology and cardiovascular. Direct technological overlap with Brainteaser's federated learning infrastructure, but operates as a funded commercial entity with a broader disease portfolio (shared methodology).

Others

• InSilicoTrials Technologies: AI and in-silico modeling company for clinical trials, explicitly named Brainteaser partner (Vincenzo Carbone) outlining strategies for post-project sustainability and uptake of BRAINTEASER tools. Adjacent rather than directly competitive.
• ENCALS (European Network to Cure ALS): European network of ALS researchers and clinicians hosting the ENCALS 2025 meeting that served as Brainteaser's final event venue. Scientific community convening body rather than a competing technology provider; relevant ecosystem participant.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brainteaser2020
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brainteaser-project

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Brainteaser