OptiLab
OptiLab is an applied cognitive neuroscience research laboratory at UCSD, led by Dr. Greg Appelbaum, that uses EEG, fMRI, TMS, tDCS, and multimodal biomarkers to study learning acceleration, athletic and surgical performance optimization, and neuromodulation-based therapeutics, funded through federal research grants.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What OptiLab does
OptiLab (Human Performance Optimization Laboratory) is an applied cognitive neuroscience research laboratory located in Guava Hall at the University of California, San Diego, and formally part of the UCSD Department of Psychiatry. Founded in 2017 through the merger of the Perception, Performance and Psychophysiology Lab and the Noninvasive Neuromodulatory Neuroscience Lab under Principal Investigator Dr. Greg Appelbaum, the lab investigates brain-based and technology-enabled approaches to accelerate learning, optimize performance, and improve therapeutics. Its core technical platform combines psychometrics, brain measurements (EEG, fMRI), and brain stimulation techniques (TMS, tDCS), and more recently extends to multimodal recording of heart rate, facial expression, and speech during therapy sessions for the ARPA-H EVIDENT MAPneuro program on psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. OptiLab does not sell commercial products or services; participation in its research is voluntary, and revenue takes the form of competitive grant awards from federal agencies (NIMH, NIA, DARPA, ARPA-H, Army Research Office) and institutional partners (Wellcome Leap, Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences), including a $3 million BRAIN Initiative Grant awarded in 2017.
The lab's primary research participants and collaborators span four user populations: surgical trainees and medical professionals (robotic surgery error prediction, brain-stimulation-accelerated skill learning), athletes and elite performers (sports vision training and cognitive optimization via the UCSD Athletics collaboration and Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance), older adults with cognitive impairment (TMS-based memory interventions under NIA funding), and patients undergoing psychiatric treatment, particularly treatment-resistant depression and suicidality, including those receiving ketamine- and psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy through the Interventional Psychiatry Program and San Diego VA Healthcare System. Outreach occurs through peer-reviewed publications (over 30 by Jordan Kohn alone since 2017), conference presentations (ISVA, SOBP, NYC Neuromodulation, Neuroergonomics), a public website (optilab.net), the @UCSDOptiLab Twitter account, and earned media in NPR, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, Men's Health, New York Times, and Nature.
OptiLab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OptiLab
- Legal name
- Human Performance Optimization Laboratory
- Website
- https://www.optilab.net
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- OptiLab is an applied cognitive neuroscience research laboratory at UCSD, led by Dr. Greg Appelbaum, that uses EEG, fMRI, TMS, tDCS, and multimodal biomarkers to study learning acceleration, athletic and surgical performance optimization, and neuromodulation-based therapeutics, funded through federal research grants.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OptiLab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cognitive Neuroscience Research
- NAICS
- Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Precision Clinical Trials Enablement (patient matching, site matching, adaptive trials) (HLAAANAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO), Clinical Decision Support & Workflow Integration (EHR/oncology systems) (HLAAANAE)
Keywords
Where OptiLab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
OptiLab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Government Research Grants: Primary funding from federal agencies including National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Aging, Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA), Army Research Office, and ARPA-H programs. BRAIN Initiative grants support neuroscience research.
- Institutional Research Funding: Collaborative research funding from institutional partners such as Wellcome Leap, Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, and Duke Institute for Brain Sciences.
- Academic Research Services: Research coordination and clinical trial management services provided to healthcare institutions including the UCSD Interventional Psychiatry Program.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
OptiLab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OptiLab (Human Performance Optimization Laboratory) is an applied cognitive neuroscience research laboratory that conducts studies using psychometrics for behavioral capture, EEG and fMRI for brain measurements, and TMS and tDCS for brain stimulation. The lab investigates approaches to accelerate learning, improve diagnostics, and create better therapeutics across domains including human performance optimization, sports vision training, neuromodulation for memory, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research. It does not sell commercial products or services; research participation is voluntary and grant-funded.
Product overview
OptiLab (Human Performance Optimization Laboratory) is an academic research laboratory at UCSD led by Dr. Greg Appelbaum. The lab conducts applied cognitive neuroscience research focused on brain-based and technology-enabled approaches to accelerate learning and optimize performance. Rather than a commercial product company, OptiLab operates as a research institution offering study participation opportunities and producing scientific publications. Their research programs include human performance optimization, sports vision training, neuromodulation (TMS/tDCS) for therapeutic applications, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (MAPneuro program). The lab collaborates with clinical trials and healthcare programs rather than selling commercial products.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Improved visual short-term memory retention through stroboscopic training (effects lasting 24+ hours)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use OptiLab
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
OptiLab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
OptiLab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor, core, major and former.
- ARPA-H EVIDENT ProgramflagshipARPA-H-funded program (MAPneuro) developing multimodal measures of interpersonal synchrony between therapists and patients during psychedelic-assisted and conventional psychotherapy. Collaboration includes Eric Garland, Cory Weissman, Kush Bhatt, Dhakshin Ramanathan, Ben Lewis, and Suzanne Dikker.
- Eiro LLCminorPatient Engagement Study collaboration launched in April 2026. Eiro LLC representatives visited the lab for an enlightening site visit.
- UCSD Department of PsychiatrycoreOptiLab is formally affiliated with the UCSD Department of Psychiatry and operates within its research infrastructure. The lab conducts interventional psychiatry research and clinical trials under this umbrella.
- UCSD Neuroscience Graduate ProgramcoreOptiLab contributes to and draws graduate students from the UCSD Neuroscience Graduate Program, supporting interdisciplinary neuroscience training and research.
- SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical PsychologycoreJoint doctoral program where OptiLab mentors clinical psychology PhD students including Noah Stapper and Katie Rodriguez.
- Center for the Future of Surgery @UCSDmajorCollaboration on surgical performance research including robotic surgery error prediction studies using the da Vinci Surgical System. Published joint research in Frontiers in Neuroergonomics.
- Wu Tsai Human Performance AlliancemajorMulti-institutional alliance focused on human performance research. Dr. Appelbaum presented at the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Research Symposium as part of Digital Twin session.
- UCSD AthleticsminorCollaboration on sports vision training and cognitive performance optimization for UCSD collegiate athletes.
- San Diego VA Healthcare SystemmajorCollaboration on neuroplastogen-assisted psychotherapy research as part of the ARPA-H EVIDENT program, with researchers Dhakshin Ramanathan and Kush Bhatt involved.
- Duke University (Historical)formerHistorical partnership from 2017-2021 when OptiLab operated at Duke. Established Sports Vision Center collaboration with Duke Eye Center, Duke Athletics, and Duke Institute for Brain Sciences. Includes 2017 BRAIN Initiative Grant collaboration.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
OptiLab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Neuronetics: Commercial developer of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) systems for treatment-resistant depression. Directly comparable to OptiLab in its core use of TMS as a non-invasive neuromodulation modality, though operating as a device manufacturer rather than a research lab.
- Soterix Medical: Specializes in transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and other non-invasive brain stimulation technologies used in research and clinical applications. Directly comparable to OptiLab's tDCS neuromodulation protocols and equipment utilization.
- Magstim: Manufacturer of TMS systems widely used in clinical research and psychiatric practice. Comparable as a provider of the core neuromodulation hardware underlying OptiLab's TMS research programs.
- Laureate Institute for Brain Research: Clinical neuroscience research institute focused on depression, suicidality, and treatment response using neuroimaging and neuromodulation. Comparable to OptiLab's interventional psychiatry and treatment-response biomarker research.
Emerging players
- Posit Science: Develops cognitive training software targeting brain health and performance. Comparable to OptiLab's sports vision and cognitive performance optimization research, though focused on consumer/clinical software rather than lab-based neuroscience.
- Neuroelectrics: Provides EEG-based brain monitoring and tDCS/tACS stimulation systems for research and clinical applications. Comparable to OptiLab's combined EEG measurement and brain stimulation research stack.
- HRL Laboratories: Applied research lab with cognitive neuroscience and human performance optimization programs. Comparable to OptiLab's applied cognitive neuroscience focus on performance acceleration and recovery.
Broad incumbents
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute (Stanford): Large-scale interdisciplinary neuroscience research institute at Stanford focused on brain function, performance, and disease. Comparable to OptiLab as an academic neuroscience research entity, but at substantially greater scale and resources.
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research (MIT): Major MIT-based neuroscience research institute pursuing brain measurement and stimulation at scale. Comparable in research domain but operates with substantially larger faculty and funding base than OptiLab.
Regional players
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics: European neuroscience research institute studying perception, cognition, and brain stimulation. Comparable in research scope but primarily serves European academic and clinical partners rather than U.S. federal programs.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OptiLab social profiles
Digital presenceOptiLab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OptiLab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
OptiLab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OptiLab 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 OptiLab
What does OptiLab do?
OptiLab (Human Performance Optimization Laboratory) is an applied cognitive neuroscience research laboratory that conducts studies using psychometrics for behavioral capture, EEG and fMRI for brain measurements, and TMS and tDCS for brain stimulation. The lab investigates approaches to accelerate learning, improve diagnostics, and create better therapeutics across domains including human performance optimization, sports vision training, neuromodulation for memory, and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy research. It does not sell commercial products or services; research participation is voluntary and grant-funded.
Is OptiLab a public or private company?
OptiLab is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was OptiLab founded?
OptiLab was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is OptiLab based?
OptiLab is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does OptiLab make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Government Research Grants are the primary driver. The others are institutional Research Funding and academic Research Services.
Who are OptiLab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Neuronetics, Soterix Medical, Magstim and Laureate Institute for Brain Research. Emerging players are Posit Science, Neuroelectrics and HRL Laboratories. Broad incumbents are Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute (Stanford) and McGovern Institute for Brain Research (MIT). Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics is listed as a regional player.
Does OptiLab have an API?
No public API is recorded for OptiLab.
What industry is OptiLab in?
OptiLab's product category is Cognitive Neuroscience Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAANAI, Precision Clinical Trials Enablement (patient matching, site matching, adaptive trials), with a secondary code of HLAGAJAO, AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization. Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.