Finance for the £30m Growth Finance Fund has been provided by the British Business Bank, Invest Northern Ireland and private investors, Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC).
Neurovalens was formed in 2015 and specialises in combining neuroscience and technology to tackle global health challenges such as obesity, diabetes and insomnia. The company employs 26 staff and recently announced a further 22 new jobs are to be created to support business-wide growth.
Dr Jason McKeown, founder and CEO of Neurovalens, said: “The business has grown rapidly over the last few years and it is an exciting time for the company as we continue to expand in the American market.
“Our new product Modius SLEEP is a drug-free, non-invasive headset that actively stimulates key sleep neurons in the brain to improve sleep. By sending a safe electrical pulse to the vestibular nerve and hypothalamus the SLEEP headset reduces the time it takes to fall asleep and keeps you asleep for longer. We estimate nine million Americans use sleep medication so Modius SLEEP will be a breakthrough device in sleep science when we launch later this year.”
He added: “We will be using the funding from the Growth Finance Fund to further develop our SLEEP and SLIM products internationally. In addition, we plan to move our SLIM headset into the retail sector, making it more accessible to consumers.”
David McCurley, Director, Head of Investments Growth Finance Fund, said: “Having successfully closed several funding rounds and with the support of Invest NI, Neurovalens is a great success story for Northern Ireland’s technology sector.
“Neurovalens’ products have great growth potential and with a foot in the USA market now secured, we are confident the business will continue to expand and help tackle global health challenges.”
The Growth Finance Fund will support loans from £500,000 up to £2m to established smaller growing businesses in Northern Ireland over the next four years. Companies seeking funding must be based in Northern Ireland and demonstrate existing growth.
David McCurley, Director, Head of Investments Growth Finance Fund (left) and Dr Jason McKeown, Founder and CEO of Neurovalens (right).
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