Lykos tried to turn a psychedelic therapy born in nonprofit research into a prescription treatment for PTSD. Its FDA setback showed how much more a promising result must prove before it becomes medicine.
Nudge is a San Francisco neurotechnology company building non-invasive, whole-brain interfaces powered by focused ultrasound. Founded in 2024 by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam alongside Jeremy Barenholtz and Quintin Frerichs, the company aims to stimulate and image deep brain circuits with millimeter precision - no surgery required. Its first human-ready system, Nudge Zero, is being used in research studies today, with a long-term goal of a headphone-like consumer device that lets people shift their brain state - sleep, focus, mood, habits - at the press of a button. Nudge raised a $100M Series A in July 2025 led by Thrive Capital and Greenoaks.