EarBrain
EarBrain is a Tokyo-based company developing brain-sensing earphones that use in-ear EEG, machine learning-based drowsiness detection, and slow wave enhancement to help health-conscious consumers refocus during the day and improve sleep quality.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2022
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What EarBrain does
EarBrain is a Tokyo-based, privately held Japanese stock corporation (株式会社EarBrain) founded in 2022 that is developing a brain-sensing earphone — a wearable hardware product combined with iOS and Android companion apps — designed to deliver real-time biofeedback for daytime focus and nighttime sleep improvement. The product integrates three technical components: a wireless ambulatory in-ear EEG recording platform that miniaturizes traditional headset-style EEG into an earbud form factor for daily wear; automatic drowsiness detection based on alpha wave extraction with machine learning that triggers app-based alerts or adjusts music playback based on concentration status; and an automatic sleep quality improvement function that uses slow wave enhancement rather than passive visualization.
The company is led by CEO Kazutaka Yoshinaga, an M.D. and serial entrepreneur who previously founded Melp, a medical online questionnaire service that achieved the largest market share in Japan across over 1,300 hospitals before being exited to JMDC. The technical team includes CTO Yusuke Tanabe, with 7+ years of full-stack and IoT development experience on medical products, and hardware engineer Shintaro Sakoda, who has R&D experience in myoelectric prosthetic hands and biometric sensors from the University of Electro-Communications. This combination of medical, software, and biometric hardware expertise is the foundation of the ear-EEG platform.
The business model is B2C and self-serve: the product is distributed globally through the iOS App Store and Google Play Store for the companion app, with the earphone hardware sold directly to individual health-conscious consumers. No pricing tiers, no disclosed customers, no funding rounds, and no partnerships were identified in the input data, indicating EarBrain is at a very early commercial stage. Headcount is in the 1-10 range, the company's website runs on the free Strikingly platform, and only GDPR cookie compliance is documented as a formal compliance posture. The target segment is horizontal — individuals seeking better focus and sleep — rather than enterprise or clinical channels.
EarBrain firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- EarBrain
- Legal name
- 株式会社EarBrain
- Website
- https://ear-brain.mystrikingly.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2022
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- EarBrain is a Tokyo-based company developing brain-sensing earphones that use in-ear EEG, machine learning-based drowsiness detection, and slow wave enhancement to help health-conscious consumers refocus during the day and improve sleep quality.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
EarBrain industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wearable Neurotechnology
- NAICS
- Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)
- SIC
- Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Hearables (True Wireless Earbuds & Smart Headphones) (CRACAIAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Neurological Monitoring (EEG, Seizure/Sleep/Neuro Wearables) (HLAHACAE), On-Device Speech & Audio AI (wake word, ASR, enhancement) (HDAAAJAF)
Keywords
Where EarBrain is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Markets served
EarBrain business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
EarBrain product offering
Product offeringCore offering
EarBrain develops and sells a brain-sensing earphone that uses real-time biofeedback to help users refocus during the day and enhance sleep quality. The product combines a hardware earphone with in-ear EEG sensors and companion iOS/Android apps, integrating three capabilities: wireless ambulatory in-ear EEG recording, automatic drowsiness detection via alpha wave extraction and machine learning, and active sleep quality improvement through slow wave enhancement.
Product overview
EarBrain is a single unified product — a brain-sensing earphone that combines hardware (in-ear EEG sensors) with companion mobile apps (iOS and Android) to deliver real-time biofeedback. The product integrates three core capabilities: (1) a wireless ambulatory in-ear EEG recording platform for continuous brain activity monitoring, (2) automatic drowsiness detection powered by alpha wave extraction and machine learning, and (3) automatic sleep quality improvement through slow wave enhancement. Together, these features enable both daytime focus enhancement and nighttime sleep optimization.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- EarBrain Brain-Sensing Earphone A brain-sensing earphone for individual consumers that uses real-time biofeedback to support daytime focus and sleep quality. The device features in-ear EEG recording, automatic drowsiness detection via alpha wave analysis and machine learning, and active sleep quality improvement through slow wave enhancement, paired with iOS and Android companion apps.
Companies that use EarBrain
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
EarBrain technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature3 records
EarBrain partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves3 records
Expansion highlights4 records
EarBrain competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kokoon: Sleep-focused headphones with biosensors (EEG, heart rate) and adaptive audio. Competes on the same use cases (sleep quality, relaxation) using a similar over-ear/in-ear audio device form factor.
- InteraXon (Muse): Maker of the Muse brain-sensing headband for meditation, focus, and sleep. Most direct competitor in the consumer EEG-biofeedback category, targeting overlapping use cases (focus, sleep) with a different (headband) form factor.
- Dreem: EEG-based sleep wearable with closed-loop audio stimulation to enhance slow-wave sleep. Direct competitor on both the EEG-sleep measurement and active sleep-improvement dimensions that EarBrain claims as differentiators.
- Neurable: Neurotechnology company building EEG sensors into everyday headphone form factors and developing brain-computer interface applications. Highly comparable in pursuing in/ear EEG as a daily-wear consumer platform.
- Emotiv: Consumer and research-grade EEG headsets (Epoc, Insight) with ML-based signal processing. Comparable on the EEG hardware plus proprietary ML-signal-processing stack targeting focus, sleep, and performance.
Emerging players
- OpenBCI: Open-source EEG hardware platform with developer and research focus. Comparable on the EEG hardware and ML signal processing stack; EarBrain's consumer sleep/focus positioning is a more packaged, end-user-friendly version of the same underlying technology.
- Oura: Oura Ring provides continuous sleep and readiness tracking with strong consumer brand and a subscription data-services layer. Adjacent competitor for the same health-conscious consumer spending on sleep optimization, though using a ring form factor rather than earbuds.
Broad incumbents
- Apple (AirPods Pro): AirPods Pro with sleep/focus features and HearID-style personalization. A dominant hearables incumbent whose movement into sleep and alertness poses the largest competitive threat to EarBrain's hearable form factor and consumer use cases.
- Bose Sleepbuds: Bose's sleep-focused earbuds that mask noise and play sleep audio. Broad incumbent in sleep-audio wearables competing for the same consumer sleep-quality wallet share.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
EarBrain social profiles
Digital presenceEarBrain compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
EarBrain financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
EarBrain leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
EarBrain funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
EarBrain M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about EarBrain
What does EarBrain do?
EarBrain develops and sells a brain-sensing earphone that uses real-time biofeedback to help users refocus during the day and enhance sleep quality. The product combines a hardware earphone with in-ear EEG sensors and companion iOS/Android apps, integrating three capabilities: wireless ambulatory in-ear EEG recording, automatic drowsiness detection via alpha wave extraction and machine learning, and active sleep quality improvement through slow wave enhancement.
Is EarBrain a public or private company?
EarBrain is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was EarBrain founded?
EarBrain was founded in 2022. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is EarBrain based?
EarBrain is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
Who are EarBrain's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kokoon, InteraXon (Muse), Dreem, Neurable and Emotiv. Emerging players are OpenBCI and Oura. Broad incumbents are Apple (AirPods Pro) and Bose Sleepbuds.
Does EarBrain have an API?
No public API is recorded for EarBrain.
What industry is EarBrain in?
EarBrain's product category is Wearable Neurotechnology. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRACAIAD, Hearables (True Wireless Earbuds & Smart Headphones), with a secondary code of HLAHACAE, Neurological Monitoring (EEG, Seizure/Sleep/Neuro Wearables). Its NAICS code is 334510 and its SIC code is 3845.