Facebook Acquires Startup that Controls Computing with Human Mind

Facebook’s augmented and virtual reality Vice President Andrew “Boz” Bosworth has announced that the Social Media platform has acquired a Startup that can control computing with the human mind.

In a Facebook post announcing the deal to buy over CTRL Labs, Boz said the company wants to build mind-reading technology at scale and get it into consumer products.

CTRL Labs founder Patrick Kaifosh had told Forbes in March he sees his wristband as a “universal controller for all your interactions with technology.”

According to reports, Facebook could have paid between $500 million and $1 billion for the company.

Below is a video showing CTRL Labs prototype in action.

The startup will be part of Facebook Reality Labs, a division inside Facebook focusing virtual and augmented reality projects.

CTRL Labs raised $28 million in a February funding round led by GV, formerly Google Ventures. The startup has raised a total of $67 million from investors such as the Amazon Alexa Fund, Spark Capital, Matrix Partners and Lux Capital, according to Pitchbook.

Explaining how the device works, Boz noted that the wristband detects electrical signals from your spinal cord that tell your hand muscles how to move. CTRL Labs works to decode those signals and translate them into a digital signal that a device, such as a phone or computer, can understand.

“It captures your intention so you can share a photo with a friend using an imperceptible movement or just by, well, intending to,” he said.

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