Alphabeats Makes CEO Change, Raises More Funding for Brain Wave Wearable
The Dutch startup, which uses an EEG headband and music to help athletes get mentally ready for competition, is targeting the U.S. market
Alphabeats, a Dutch startup that uses wearable tech and music-driven neurofeedback to help athletes improve their mental performance, is gearing up to conquer the American health and wellness market.
After raising nearly $2 million in fresh funding, alphabeats has promoted chief commercial officer Jorrit DeVries to global CEO and is shifting its business headquarters from the Netherlands to Los Angeles.
Han Dirkx, who had been serving as CEO, will now become chief operating officer, leading alphabeats’ product, research and development, and technology teams, which will stay based in the Netherlands.
DeVries, a former Spotify executive who joined alphabets in April, will head up the company’s LA office, where alphabeats will house its business operations teams as it pushes further into the United States.
“I’m honored to take the reins at alphabeats at this pivotal moment,” DeVries said. “The convergence of wearable technology, neurofeedback advancements and the growing accessibility of elite performance tools creates a unique opportunity. I’m excited to build on the strong foundation laid by Han and the team, as we work towards our vision of making mental fitness achievable for everyone.”
A Wearable That Trains Your Brain
Alphabeats offers an EEG (electroencephalogram) headband and accompanying app, which are designed to help users produce more alpha brain waves. Often associated with being in a “flow state,” alpha waves are beneficial for creativity, recovery, deep focus, improved reaction time and motor coordination, making them sought after for athletic performance.
To use the alphabeats platform, users strap on an EEG headband and a pair of headphones, then turn on the app. The app monitors users’ brain activity, providing real-time feedback through music, visual cues and cognitive games to help users train their brains to produce more alpha waves.
For example, the app can take popular songs and change the soundtrack to correspond to changes in users’ brain waves. The more alpha waves a user produces, the more the soundtrack matches the actual song. Training sessions on alphabeats last around 10 minutes, with programs created specifically for states like focus, stress relief and rest/relaxation.
With consistent training, alphabeats says users can learn to produce alpha waves whenever they want. For athletes, this can come in handy before key moments in a game or competition.
An alphabeats membership is currently available for $149 per year or $15.99 per month. Users can purchase an EEG headband from BrainBit for $449, although the platform works with other compatible EEG headbands.
To date, alphabeats has raised €3.75 million ($4.16 million), including a recent €1.75 million post-seed round led by Dutch venture capital firm DeepTech XL. The company also counts Netherlands-based firms Lumo Labs and HighTech XL among its investors.
Alphabeats is actively looking to raise additional funds from American investors, DeVries tells Athletech News.
Targeting Athletes, High-Performers
While it’s still very early days for the company, alphabeats has seen some initial success in the United States. It recently struck a partnership with USA Triathlon’s Project Podium, a program that trains young male athletes for the Olympics. Through the partnership, a select group of Project Podium athletes will integrate alphabeats into their daily training over three months.
Alphabeats is also collaborating with Nationsbest Football, an organization that works with elite football players in the U.S. As part of that collaboration, 10 football players across pro, college and high school levels agreed to use alphabeats as part of their daily training.
Alphabeats also counts Dewi Weber, a Dutch pro golfer playing on the LPGA Tour, among its users.
With DeVries as global CEO, alphabeats will look to strengthen its presence in the U.S. market by getting its mental performance system into the hands of as many athletes as possible.
To do so, alphabeats is shifting its business operations to Los Angeles, where it’s looking to hire for new positions including a chief marketing officer. According to DeVries, the company chose LA over other American cities because Southern California will play host to globally important upcoming sporting events including the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Summer Olympics.
“It only makes sense for us to double down (here) and make sure this is the market where everything comes together,” DeVries told ATN.
Eventually, DeVries sees a market for alphabeats that stretches beyond just athletes and into weekend warriors and everyday fitness enthusiasts – the same people that wear Apple Watches and Oura rings should, presumably, be interested in optimizing their brain function with an EEG headband.
“If we can prove with elite athletes that our system works and that we have the scientific proof and the testimonials to underpin our story, that will ultimately create a ripple effect for what we call the ‘high achievers,’ or the ‘everyday champions’ to tap into this as well,” DeVries said.