Apple FaceID Co-Inventor Raises $52M for AI Brain Diagnostic Startup
Original: The Apple FaceID Co-Inventor Building a Frontier AI Model for the Human Brain
Why This Matters
Non-invasive AI brain diagnostics could transform mental health and neurological care at scale.
Gidi Littwin, co-inventor of Apple's FaceID and Vision Pro, has raised $52 million for his startup Hemispheric, which uses AI trained on 100,000 people's brain data to diagnose cognitive disorders like depression, PTSD, and Parkinson's non-invasively.
Hemispheric, founded by Apple veteran Gidi Littwin and neuroscientist Hagai Lalazar, has secured $52 million in funding to develop an AI-powered brain diagnostic platform. Littwin left Apple in 2020 after co-inventing FaceID and contributing to Vision Pro's hand-tracking technology. Lalazar, who had interviewed roughly 75 candidates, recruited him via LinkedIn.
The company collected a quarter of a million hours of EEG brain data from 100,000 paid volunteers across Asia, Tel Aviv, and Boston. Subjects performed game-like tasks designed to activate specific brain regions. That dataset was used to train a frontier deep learning model that infers brain function from electrical signals — analogous to how large language models derive meaning from text.
The model was tested on individuals diagnosed with PTSD, schizophrenia, and depression, with the team reporting accurate assessments of brain health. A clinical study targeting Alzheimer's diagnosis and prediction is currently underway. Hemispheric plans to submit its first product — focused on PTSD — to the FDA for approval in early 2027, with a public rollout targeted for later that year.
The diagnostic process involves a lightweight EEG headset worn for approximately 15 minutes while the patient interacts with a tablet app. Clinicians use the AI output to guide diagnosis, treatment selection, and progress monitoring. Co-founder Lalazar described their vision: 'The future that we envision is one where this is akin to a blood test.'