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Human Augmentation in Silicon Valley
Ariel Poler @ariel
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
Today’s Talk
 The Human Augmentation Landscape
 The investment in human augmentation landscape
 A few words about Silicon Valley
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
Neosensory
Neosensory
Somatic Labs Moment
Roam Robotics
Seismic Powered Clothing
Cambridge Bio-Augmentation Systems
Uniq: 3D printed prosthetic covers
and back braces
Thync (TDCS)
Brain enhancements and
interfacing
 CTRL-labs (Rearden)
 Kernel (Johnson)
 Neuralink (Musk)
 Neurable (Alcaide)
Sana &
Kokoon
Rhythm
Circadia
Doppler Labs (RIP)
CyborgNest
Feel
John Roger’s Lab
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…
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…
A few tidbits about Silicon Valley
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.
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…
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.
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
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!
Human Augmentation in Silicon Valley
Ariel Poler @ariel

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Human augmentation & 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
  • 11. Uniq: 3D printed prosthetic covers and back braces
  • 13. Brain enhancements and interfacing  CTRL-labs (Rearden)  Kernel (Johnson)  Neuralink (Musk)  Neurable (Alcaide)
  • 19. Feel
  • 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