Could the next big breakthrough in brain health come from virtual reality?

‍What’s happening:‍

  • Portugal based virtual reality healthcare startup Virtuleap has raised $2.5M USD in a new funding round
  • The round was led by GED Ventures Portugal

The big idea:‍

  • Virtuleap has developed a virtual reality technology called EnhanceVR which allows individuals to play short, intense games designed to improve memory, cognitive ability and even spatial orientation
  • The collection of games on Virtuleap are developed by neuroscientists and can also gather important data that measures brain activity

Going deeper:‍

  • Virtuleap believes that they may be able to further develop their games to act as a therapeutic for learning challenges such as ADHD

The intrigue:‍

  • Virtuleap is collaborating with pharmaceutical giant Roche on building a new type of technology that uses virtual reality to screen for early cognitive disorders in adults such as Alzheimers disease

By the numbers:‍

  • EnhanceVR is already being used by 60,000 people
  • The games developed by Virtuleap are currently available in 5 different languages
  • Virtuleap currently has $1.8M in commercial partnerships, including with notable companies such as HP