latest developments in human augmentation - as well as some thoughts about silicon valley

1. Human Augmentation in Silicon Valley
Ariel Poler @ariel

2. Ariel’s Background
 Personal: From Venezuela. BS from MIT (math), MBA from Stanford. Lives
in San Francisco.
 Founder: IPRO, Topica & TextMarks.
 Board Member: Kana, LinkExchange, Odeo, StumbleUpon, Scan, Freedom
Financial, Strava, Returnly, NeoSensory, UCSF Health Hub.
 Investor: AdMob, Flixster, Slideshare, BrightRoll, Instructables, Optimizely,
Thumbtack, Change.org, Boosted Boards, Clearbit, Cambridge Bio-
Augmentation, Thync and 100 more…
 Current focus: Human Augmentation Syndicate Manager
 Trivia: Addicted to kitefoil racing, SUP surfing & good espresso

3. Today’s Talk
 The Human Augmentation Landscape
 The investment in human augmentation landscape
 A few words about Silicon Valley

4. The Human Augmentation Landscape
 Sense substitution & expansion (NeoSensory, Somatic, Subpac)
 Exoskeletons (Roam Robotics, Seismic, Cionic, Ekso, Rewalk)
 Bionics (Cambridge BioAugmentation Systems, Uniq)
 Electrical Brain stimulation (Halo Neuroscience, Thync)
 Brain enhancements - interfacing (CTRL-labs, Kernel, Neuralink, Neurable)
 Music Brain Stimulation (Brain.fm, Focus at Will)
 Sleep (Dreem, Sana, Kokoon, Circadian)
 Hearables (Nuheara, Bragi, Bose)
 Implants, Biowearables, Nootropics, Longevity, Genomics, CBT, Hypnosis

5. Neosensory

6. Neosensory

7. Somatic Labs Moment

8. Roam Robotics

9. Seismic Powered Clothing

10. Cambridge Bio-Augmentation Systems

11. Uniq: 3D printed prosthetic covers
and back braces

12. Thync (TDCS)

13. Brain enhancements and
interfacing
 CTRL-labs (Rearden)
 Kernel (Johnson)
 Neuralink (Musk)
 Neurable (Alcaide)

14. Sana &
Kokoon

15. Rhythm

16. Circadia

17. Doppler Labs (RIP)

18. CyborgNest

19. Feel

20. John Roger’s Lab

21. Most projects are a challenge for
Silicon Valley investors
 Labs -> just technology -> no product or team
 Voyeurism & Art -> hard to build a business case
 Medical applications -> OK for health investors
 VR/AR/Entertainment -> OK, if that is what you are into
 Location can be a problem…

22. A Handful of Silicon Valley Investors
Are Investing in the Space
 Khosla Ventures
 Jazz Ventures
 True Ventures
 Obvious Ventures
 Spero Ventures
 And a few others, but not many…

23. A few tidbits about Silicon Valley

24. Don’t believe everything you read in
blogs and books
 Most success stories are made with 20/20 revisionist
hindsight
 It often takes time, e.g. StumbleUpon and Twitter were not
overnight successes as some people think…
 Hindsight gives great strategic vision. In most cases,
successes are built incrementally and with a lot of luck.

25. Take Risks.
But One at at time!
 Make big bold bets. All of the most successful entrepreneurs
do!
 Diversify over time: focusing on one thing at a time. Don’t
“hedge your bets”.
 But, it is OK to experiment with different things for a while
until you decide what you want to focus on. Just for a while…

26. Hire Slow & Fire Fast
 The moment you start thinking someone might not be
working out, they aren’t
 But letting someone go is difficult and painful for everyone, so don’t
cut corners when hiring.
 Same goes for co-founders, service providers, and others.
 Prioritize talent Over experience
 Do thorough references!!! Or better yet, a trial period.

27. You can’t follow
all the advice that you get
 Silicon Valley is very diverse and there are many
philosophies and approaches that co-exist here
 Context is key
 You must find the approach that works for you
 Customize learnings to your situation

28. How I choose
my entrepreneurs?
 Did I have fun during the meeting?
 Do I want to have dinner with the entrepreneurs?
 Will the project have a meaningful impact?
 Is the business opportunity large enough?
 Can I help? BTW: Help us help you!

29. Human Augmentation in Silicon Valley
Ariel Poler @ariel