Bengaluru brain health startup Ivory has raised $1 million in funding round co-led by IIM-A Ventures and Capital-A, with 1Crowd, Stanford Angels, and other investors participating. Ivory was founded in 2022 by Issac John and Rahul Krishnan and wants to reverse the increasing phenomenon of cognitive decline in India with clinically backed assessments and customized brain training tools.
Funding and Investors
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Ivory raised $1 million in a funding round co-led by IIM-A Ventures and Capital-A, with further participation from 1Crowd, Stanford Angels, and other angel investors.
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The new capital will be deployed to bolster Ivory's technology for clinical-grade brain health evaluations and to build out its distribution channels.
Company Background and Mission
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Ivory was established in 2022 in Bengaluru by Issac John and Rahul Krishnan.
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The mission of the startup is to fill the preventive brain health gap by providing affordable, clinically-backed cognitive screening and interventions, focusing particularly on individuals in their 30s and older.
Products and Services
Ivory has two products:
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A cognitive screening instrument that gives users insight into their strengths, weaknesses, and first warning signs of neurodegeneration.
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A daily companion subscription service with brain training workouts and wellness tracking to ensure cognitive wellness.
The firm is broadening its products to encompass lifestyle-related functions like stress and sleep management because the firm believes cognitive health is reflective of larger lifestyle considerations.
Market Reach and Impact
Ivory has administered more than 18,000 cognitive tests so far in India.
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The firm intends to make its products more language- and culture-neutral to appeal to a larger market, beyond educated and urban users.
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There is a pressing and increasing demand for preventive brain health solutions in India, as the incidence of dementia and neurodegenerative disease increases in the aging population.
Future Plans
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Ivory intends to further enhance its AI capabilities to make assessments and interventions more personalized, invest in research, and push into new geographies.
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The company believes in making clinical-grade cognitive screening a routine preventive health part of everyday life, beyond the classic brain games, towards overall wellness.
Industry and Investor Perspectives
Investors point to the pressing necessity for early, accessible cognitive screening, highlighting the fact that neurodegenerative diseases continue to be among the most opaque and challenging to reverse.
Ivory's data-driven, clinically informed model is viewed as being critical in shaping the future of aging and mental health in India.
Relevant Sources: Economic Times, Startup Sprouts, YourStory
