The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies

What The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies does

The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies (IACS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research institute headquartered at 2811 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, that uses experiential technology to study and modulate states of consciousness. The institute serves meditation practitioners, mental health researchers, and academic consciousness researchers, with the stated mission of promoting human flourishing through scientific investigation of subjective experience.

IACS's technology stack centers on six integrated research capabilities: High-Density EEG for real-time personalized neurofeedback, fMRI for mapping neural correlates of consciousness, DTI for measuring experience-dependent plasticity, transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) for non-invasive deep subcortical neuromodulation, a "Technodelics" platform for non-pharmacological psychedelic-mimetic experiences, and machine learning analytics for pattern detection and personalization. Proprietary methodologies include the Qualia Compass system, which collects "mental souvenirs" from hard-to-achieve states to guide users back via multivariate neurofeedback, and a Spontaneous Emergence sampling method that yields 45.6% higher reporting frequency than probe-based approaches. Published validation includes AUC of 0.81 and MAE of 1.15 for meditation depth prediction from EEG data on 34 expert Vipassana practitioners, and a 126-participant study showing equivalent anxiety reduction across MindGym reflective chamber and VR platforms, published in PLOS Mental Health.

The business model is non-commercial and mission-driven. IACS is funded through four streams: traditional research grants, tax-deductible individual donations processed via Donorbox and Shopify, crowdfunded studies with contributor rewards (e.g., the Pineal Gland Stimulation Study), and at-cost scientific investigations for partners. Go-to-market is community-led and content-driven, with research participation acquired through open lab meetings, a YouTube channel, monthly email newsletters, blog posts, and peer-reviewed publications. The myconsciousness.app mobile app, hosted on AWS with Firebase authentication, extends the participant surface. Strategic positioning explicitly combines academic rigor with startup flexibility, and includes partnerships with unnamed cutting-edge companies to develop AR/wearables/generative AI-based alternatives to psychedelic therapy for PTSD and depression.

Name

The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies

Legal name

Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies, Inc.

Website

https://advancedconsciousness.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies (IACS) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) non-profit research institute using neuroimaging (EEG, fMRI, DTI), transcranial focused ultrasound, and machine learning to study and modulate states of consciousness for meditation practitioners, mental health researchers, and clinical applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Monica

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Research Grants: Traditional research grants from funding agencies supporting consciousness research and neuroscience investigations
2. Donations: Tax-deductible donations from individuals who believe in the mission, supporting general operations or specific research projects
3. Crowdfunded Studies: Community-funded scientific experiments that fall outside traditional research grant purview, with rewards for contributors
4. At-Cost Scientific Investigations: Experiential technology investigations conducted at-cost for partners seeking rigorous scientific validation

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

IACS is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research institute that advances consciousness studies through an integrated portfolio of experiential neuroscience technologies. Its core offerings include High-Density EEG and fMRI for neuroimaging, DTI for measuring plasticity, transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) for non-invasive subcortical neuromodulation, Technodelics for generating non-pharmacological non-ordinary experiences, and Machine Learning analytics for personalization and prognosis. These technologies are deployed in research studies, at-cost scientific investigations, and community-funded experiments, often combined into personalized multivariate neurofeedback systems such as the novel Qualia Compass.

Product overview

IACS operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit research institute offering an integrated portfolio of experiential neuroscience technologies. Their core product suite includes six interconnected research technologies: High-Density EEG and fMRI for neuroimaging and brain mapping, DTI for measuring experience-dependent plasticity, tFUS for non-invasive neuromodulation, Technodelics for generating non-ordinary consciousness states without pharmacology, and Machine Learning analytics for pattern detection and personalization. These technologies are designed to work together to advance consciousness research, with the machine learning capability serving to analyze data from the neuroimaging and modulation tools to enable multivariate neurofeedback systems that can guide individuals toward specific meditative or transformative states.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MindGym: A reflective chamber environment with programmable LED lighting used for anxiety-reducing experiences and mindfulness research.

Products and services

• High-Density EEG Neurofeedback
• fMRI Brain Mapping
• DTI Plasticity Imaging
• Transcranial Focused Ultrasound (tFUS) Neuromodulation
• Technodelics Platform Non-pharmacological intervention platform capable of generating non-ordinary (psychedelic-mimetic) experiences for consciousness research and therapeutic exploration without drugs.
• Machine Learning Pattern Analytics Machine learning analytics service identifying patterns in neuroimaging data to enable prognosis and personalization of consciousness research interventions, including EEG-based meditation depth decoding models achieving AUC ~0.81.
• MindGym Reflective Chamber Reflective chamber environment with programmable LED lighting used for anxiety-reducing experiences and mindfulness research; compared against VR platforms in published studies.

Quantifiable outcome

• AUC scores approaching 0.81 for distinguishing between low and high meditation depths using EEG-based machine learning models
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Cutting-edge Companies (unnamed)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with cutting-edge companies to develop technologies combining augmented reality, wearables, and generative AI for making transformative mental health interventions more accessible, particularly for psychedelic therapy alternatives.
• PLOS Mental HealthminorOthersAcademic journal partnership for publishing research findings on cognitive, behavioral, and physiological responses to breathwork and naturalistic stimuli in reflective chamber and VR environments.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research: The leading U.S. academic center studying psilocybin and consciousness, with peer-reviewed publications and grant-backed studies comparable to IACS's research-grade output. Both operate at the intersection of neuroscience and consciousness/psychedelic-adjacent science, although Hopkins focuses on pharmacological while IACS pursues non-pharmacological routes.
• Muse (InteraXon): Consumer EEG neurofeedback headband marketed for meditation enhancement and anxiety reduction — direct competitive overlap with IACS's High-Density EEG neurofeedback and MindGym reflective chamber for meditation/anxiety. Both target the meditation-practitioner persona with technology-assisted mindfulness.
• Beckley Foundation: UK-based non-profit running psychedelic and consciousness research including neuroimaging studies of meditation and psychedelics. The Beckley Meditation and Consciousness Programme closely parallels IACS's goal of producing reproducible, neuroimaging-validated consciousness research.
• Centre for Psychedelic Research, Imperial College London: Imperial's psychedelic research group uses fMRI, EEG, and machine learning to map consciousness states under psychedelics — directly mirroring IACS's neuroimaging-plus-ML stack. Both pursue objective measurement of subjective experience and have published meditation/consciousness findings in top-tier journals.
• Heffter Research Institute: Non-profit funding pioneering consciousness and psychedelic research via competitive grants. Comparable non-profit model relying on donations and grants to drive peer-reviewed science on states of consciousness and therapeutic applications.
• Usona Institute: 501(c)(3) non-profit supporting psilocybin and other consciousness research through grants and donations. Operates with the same non-profit, mission-driven structure as IACS, with comparable peer-reviewed publication pipeline.
• Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS): Long-standing non-profit funding psychedelic and consciousness research through donations and grants. MAPS shares IACS's emphasis on rigorous science, peer-reviewed output, and non-profit funding — and both target PTSD, depression, and anxiety as primary conditions of interest.
• MIND Foundation: European non-profit conducting psychedelic research and psychedelic-assisted therapy training, with similar non-profit funding model combining grants, donations, and at-cost clinical services. Comparable mission to expand access to consciousness research and psychedelic-adjacent interventions.

Emerging players

• Neurosity: Startup selling consumer EEG devices ("Notion") with on-device ML for cognitive state detection and meditation focus. Highly comparable technical stack (HD-EEG + ML personalization) but at the consumer-hardware stage rather than the research-stage approaches IACS targets.

Broad incumbents

• Brainsway: Public company commercializing non-invasive neuromodulation (Deep TMS) for depression, OCD, and other psychiatric indications. Overlaps with IACS's tFUS-based neuromodulation mission to drive non-pharmacological mental-health interventions, but operates at FDA-approved commercial scale rather than research scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC2vLceyhee5_w4OniDqncmQ
• Xx.com/theiacs
• Facebookfacebook.com/Institute-for-Advanced-Consciousness-Studies-100583208447609

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies