TUM Founder's Talk: Brainamics
As of: April 2022
What problem do you solve with your product/idea?
Brainamics offers the first and only objective method to test and improve video games. Thanks to our innovative approach, it is possible to provide game developers with the deepest possible insights into the emotions and user experience of gamers.
What is the technology behind the product?
In the first step, we measure the brain activity of gamers. For this purpose, we use EEGs. We use the measured data as input for our machine learning models. In the last step, the models extract the emotional state of the gamer for each second of gameplay.
Are there different nationalities in your team? If so, what are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
Our team is not only highly diverse from an academic perspective but also from a nationality perspective - we already have five different nationalities in our company. We all love to work in this diverse environment as the different backgrounds create an enriching working environment for everyone. We are trying to bring together the best appraches from all worlds. The only disadvantage with internationals is that it creates a bit more bureaucratic effort when hiring them.
Are there already first employees? If so, what criteria do you use to select them?
We already hired two Data Scientists, a Neurotech Engineer, two UX Researchers. The three criteria that we use to choose our team members are the personal fit, the task fit and the general cognitive capacities. At the moment we are actively recruiting for many tech, product development and business roles. In case you are looking for an exciting adventure in a fast-paced early-stage startup, feel free to reach out to us!
Which target group do you serve and what are their needs?
Our target customers are video game developers and publishers of all sizes that are seeking to get a better understanding of the psychology and UX of their gamers. The entire industry is looking for innovative approaches to gather objective data about gamers' emotions and Brainamics is the first and only company providing a solution.
How many times did you make a decision until you found a product that was a good fit for the market?
The core idea of our company did not change much since we started. We are still extracting emotions from the human brain and provide them to video game developers. However, we still pivoted quite often until now when it comes to the backend and the way we present the data. The most valuable advice that we profited from early on was to always validate all hypothesis with real customers and develop the product with them. Luckily, we quickly found customers who are also willing to pay for our current service, which makes many things easier for us.
What makes your idea unique?
We differentiate ourselves from the many competitors by our unique and advanced technology. All competitors provide an old-fashioned approach of testing games. Typically, people are invited to play a game and then fill out a survey or verbally narrate their experience. The information that can be extracted through this approach is obviously extremely limited and highly subjective. Brainamics on the other side shows exactly what a player felt during every single moment and at any location of the gameplay.
What is particularly important to you in the further development of your start-up / idea?
One of the most important aspect on our journey is to keep on researching, developing and innovating. This will allow us to secure and even extend our competitive advantage in the long run. The second important aspect is to build the most awesome team possible. We want to find not only people who are brilliant in and passionate about what we do but also people that form an outstanding team. We are all in for the long run and for the fun.
Which financing possibilities do you already use or do you want to use in the future?
We received initial funding from the prize of the TUM IDEAward and from the EXIST Gründerstipendium. We also completed our pre-seed financing round in February 2022. In combination with our revenues, this allows us to grow the team, further improve the tech and develop the product.