What Zendo does

Zendo is a direct-to-consumer neurotech wellness brand operated by Bodhi NeuroTech, Inc., a privately held Charleston, SC corporation founded by neuroscientist Bashar Badran, PhD and psychiatrist Baron Short, MD. Its sole commercial product is the Zendo Meditation Headband, a wearable that delivers low-level transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the prefrontal cortex via saline pads over 20-minute sessions, with the intent of accelerating entry into meditative states. The technology is derived from the co-founders' E-Meditation research at the Medical University of South Carolina, including a double-blind, sham-controlled study published in Brain Stimulation.

The business sells exclusively through its owned storefront at zendomeditation.com. The headband is priced at $119 as a one-time purchase with no subscription; a $14.99 refill pack of ten single-use saline pads (~$0.60 per session) creates a modest recurring consumables stream on the installed base. An optional companion app provides guided content, but the device operates standalone without a phone. The company positions itself as a general wellness product rather than a medical device, competing on price and accessibility against prescription tDCS systems (Flow) and EEG-only wearables (Muse, Flowtime).

The customer base is entirely individual consumers spanning general wellness, meditation practitioners, sleep seekers, and focus/productivity users, with no enterprise or institutional accounts disclosed. Marketing relies on earned media (New Scientist, Women's Health, Vox), an email newsletter with a first-order discount, and website content marketing. Scale evidence is limited — 40+ verified owners and a 4.7-star average review — and there are no disclosed funding rounds, headcount figures, or revenue figures in the available material.

Name

Zendo

Legal name

Bodhi NeuroTech, Inc.

Website

https://zendomeditation.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Zendo, operated by Bodhi NeuroTech, Inc. in Charleston, SC, sells a $119 tDCS neurostimulation headband direct-to-consumer to help individual users reach meditative states faster in 20-minute sessions, with recurring revenue from consumable saline pads.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Consumer Neurostimulation Wearables

NAICS

Electromedical and Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing (334510)

SIC

Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Wellness & Stress Management Devices (Biofeedback, Meditation/Neurostimulation Devices) (CRACAQAL)

Keywords

• TDCS neurostimulation
• Meditation headband
• Wearable wellness device
• Brain stimulation
• Consumer neurotechnology

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales (Headband): One-time purchase of the Zendo headband device at $119. The headband is reusable and rechargeable, containing all stimulation technology. This represents the primary revenue stream for initial customer acquisition.
2. Consumables (Saline Pads): Recurring purchase of single-use saline pads required for each session. Pads are sold in 10-packs for $14.99. Each session uses one fresh pad. This creates an ongoing revenue stream from the installed customer base, with approximately 60 cents per session cost in the first year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zendo sells a reusable, rechargeable tDCS neurostimulation headband (priced at $119 one-time) that delivers a low-level electrical current through saline pads placed on the forehead over the prefrontal cortex to help users reach calmer, more focused mental states within 20-minute sessions. The headband operates standalone without a smartphone app and ships with 20 single-use saline pads; recurring consumable pad refills (10-packs at $14.99) generate ongoing revenue from the installed customer base.

Product overview

Zendo offers a neurotech wellness system centered on its Zendo Meditation Headband, a hardware device that uses gentle tDCS-style transcranial direct current stimulation applied to the prefrontal cortex to help users settle into meditative states faster. The core headband ($119, reusable and rechargeable) works standalone or pairs with the companion Zendo App for optional guided meditation. Consumable saline pads (10-pack for $14.99, with 20 included at purchase) are required for each 20-minute session. The company positions Zendo as a general wellness product, not a medical device.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Zendo Meditation Headband A reusable, rechargeable headband that delivers gentle tDCS-style neurostimulation to the prefrontal cortex via saline pads on the forehead, designed to help individual adult consumers settle into calmer, more focused mental states inside a 20-minute session without requiring an app or years of meditation practice.
• Zendo Pads (Refill 10-Pack) Single-use saline pads designed for the Zendo Meditation Headband; one fresh pad is required per 20-minute session for optimal electrical conductivity and stimulation delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• Significant gains in mindfulness measures relative to sham in double-blind clinical study
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe founders conducted E-Meditation research at MUSC, including a double-blind, sham-controlled study published in Brain Stimulation journal. This research formed the scientific foundation for Zendo's tDCS technology. Co-founders Bashar Badran, PhD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Founding Director of Neuro-X Lab) and Baron Short, MD (Psychiatrist and Professor, Medical Director of MUSC Brain Stimulation Service) maintain their academic affiliations while commercializing the technology through Bodhi Neurotech.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Lief Therapeutics: Lief sells a heart-rate-variability biofeedback patch for stress regulation and emotional resilience. Comparable to Zendo as a discreet, wearable consumer neuro-wellness device for daily calm and stress management.
• Sensate: Sensate is a bone-conduction vagus nerve stimulation device for stress and calm. Comparable to Zendo as a consumer neurostimulation wellness product targeting the same stress/relaxation outcome through a different stimulation modality.
• Hapbee Technologies: Hapbee sells a wearable that delivers low-power electromagnetic fields to mimic substances (caffeine, melatonin, calm). Comparable to Zendo as a consumer neuro-wellness hardware targeting mood, calm, focus, and sleep outcomes without prescription.
• Cove (previously Cala Health): Cove (formerly Cala Trio) sells a non-invasive brain stimulation wearable, originally FDA-cleared for essential tremor. Comparable to Zendo as a consumer-facing neurostimulation wearable entering adjacent wellness categories.
• Apollo Neuro: Apollo Neuro sells a wearable that uses low-frequency vibration to calm the nervous system for stress, focus, and sleep. Comparable to Zendo as a non-invasive neuro-wellness consumer device targeting stress and sleep without an app requirement.

Broad incumbents

• Calm: Calm is a leading meditation and sleep app with broad mainstream reach and celebrity-driven brand. Competes with Zendo for the meditation and sleep-seeking consumer, offering an app-only alternative to the headband category.
• Headspace: Headspace is the largest consumer meditation app with millions of subscribers and a household brand in mindfulness. Competes with Zendo for the same meditation-curious consumer wallet, but delivers guidance via audio rather than hardware-driven stimulation.

Direct peers

• Muse (Interaxon): Muse is the leading consumer EEG brain-sensing headband for meditation and sleep, priced $295-475. Competes with Zendo in the meditation headband category but uses biofeedback rather than stimulation and requires an app + subscription.
• Flowtime (Urgostem): Flowtime is a lower-priced EEG biofeedback headband priced under $200 for meditation tracking. Competes with Zendo as a meditation headband alternative for budget-conscious consumers who want neurofeedback without subscription fees.
• Flow (Flow Neuroscience): Flow sells a tDCS headband for depression treatment, FDA-cleared and prescription-only in the US at $500-800. Direct head-to-head competitor with Zendo on stimulation modality but targets the medical depression pathway while Zendo targets everyday wellness consumers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zendomeditation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Zendo