Sychedelic (ex-Neuphony) raises $3.5M seed to turn EEG headbands into wellness headphones

An Indian startup building AI headphones that use biofeedback and neuromodulation to reduce stress, improve focus and support sleep.

That headphones that sense stress and adapt audio and neurostimulation in real time can win consumers where passive EEG headbands only tracked.

Husband-and-wife founders Ria Rustagi and Bhavya Madan started the company in 2020 as Neuphony, building EEG-based neurofeedback headbands to track brain activity and mental wellness indicators.

It later pivoted to Sychedelic and headphones combining PPG sensors, adaptive audio and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to monitor stress and cognitive state and respond. It operates between India and the US with a Delaware entity and a New York science advisor. It plans to use the seed on marketing, manufacturing scale-up, research and a global Kickstarter launch in June 2026.

Wearables are moving beyond fitness tracking toward neurotechnology and biofeedback for stress, focus and sleep, per Inc42.

Early-user feedback over six months helped refine the hardware and adaptive algorithms, the company says.

CDSCO approval and patent applications give it regulatory and IP footing before a global launch.

A Kickstarter launch in June 2026 would test demand in the US and other markets.

Moving from measuring a state to changing it is a bigger product claim; at seed the evidence is 100 early users, a regulatory approval and patent filings, not outcomes.

As of 2026-05-20 Sychedelic had closed the $3.5M seed and was preparing a June 2026 Kickstarter; the article reports no sales or outcome data, and the closed-loop claim is the company's own.