atai Life Sciences acquires majority stake in Psyber, Inc., to develop Brain Computer Interface-enabled digital therapeutics targeting mental health disorders

atai Life Sciences acquires majority stake in Psyber, Inc., to develop Brain Computer Interface-enabled digital therapeutics targeting mental health disorders

atai Life Sciences (“atai” or the “Company”), a global biopharmaceutical company developing psychedelic and non-psychedelic compounds for various mental health indications, has acquired a majority stake in Delaware based Psyber, a company dedicated to developing interventions to improve various mental health disorders and induce behavioural changes through brain computer interface (BCI)-enabled digital therapeutics (DTx).

EEG-based BCI devices record electrical activity in the brain for real-time interpretation of emotional, behavioural, and mental states. Traditionally, the main goal of BCI has been to replace or restore useful functions to people disabled by neuromuscular disorders. However, recent studies have shown that the technology may have useful applications for mental health disorders as it allows for a direct decoding of emotional experience from neural activity. 

In the case of Psyber, EEG-based BCI development will be enabled through a tailored software platform and a large patent portfolio, combined with atai’s diverse compounds. 

“At atai, we firmly believe that giving power back to the patient could lead to improved health outcomes,” said David Keene, Digital Therapeutics Lead of atai. “This novel technology is designed to do exactly that, combining both medicine and BCI-assisted therapy puts the patient firmly in the driving seat as it tailors to the individual’s specific needs.”

Psyber’s aim is to empower patients prescribed medication to achieve better mental health outcomes by offering personalized and novel digitally enhanced, behaviour-changing experiences that complement their medication assisted therapy. The objective is better outcomes, a better experience and better personalized behaviour change training than existing medication or behavioral therapy solutions currently offer.

“BCI as a technology has the potential to change the world as we know it,” said Prahlad Krishnan, CEO of Psyber. “In the context of mental health, this is no exception as every patient enrolled in BCI-assisted therapy will have greater autonomy, ever more empowered to change their feelings and behaviors to improve their quality of life.”

About atai Life Sciences 

atai is a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2018 in response to the clear and growing unmet needs of mental health patients worldwide. atai is dedicated to acquiring, incubating and efficiently developing innovative therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health disorders. atai’s business model combines funding, technology, scientific and regulatory expertise with a focus on psychedelic therapy and other drugs with differentiated safety profiles and therapeutic potential. By pooling resources and best practices, atai aims to responsibly accelerate the development of new medicines across its business entities, seeking to effectively treat and ultimately heal mental health disorders. atai’s vision is to bridge the gap between what the mental healthcare system currently provides and what patients need. atai is headquartered in Berlin, with offices in New York, San Diego and London. For more information, please visit www.atai.life.