The 3 big things in Spirit Tech this week

ATLAS opened pre-orders for Atlas 1.0

Atlas 1.0 is a behind-the-ear brain wearable that measures EEG, motion, skin conductance, and voice vibration and turns them into three live scores: Presence, Stress and Energy Burn.

Consumer EEG measurements have typically required the user to remain still. ATLAS claims its proprietary technology generates accurate EEG measurements on the move, reporting up to 20x more accurate measurements while walking and running relative to a $30,000 research-grade benchmark.

Tools like Atlas can help us better understand our inner state at scale.

The device sells for $499 with a $29.99 monthly subscription. The Pioneer Edition includes twelve months of complimentary API and MCP access, putting Atlas data within reach of tools like Claude and ChatGPT. Pre-orders opened on September 1 and sold out within the week, with first units set to ship in Q1 2027.

New study demonstrated VR-enhanced meditation did not move biomarkers

A University of Trier study gave 100 healthy adults the same mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) breathing meditation three ways: audio alone, audio over a 2D beach video, and audio inside a 360 degree VR beach.

The result? On every relaxation measure the VR headset group did not significantly differ from the group sitting with eyes closed and voice guidance only. While the VR did help participants feel more immersed in the scene, it did not show up in the measured biomarkers.

The authors offer two explanations: (1) a teacher's voice and a VR ocean ask for the same attention, and (2) many of the participants started from a low-stress baseline.

A 2024 trial in Mindfulness found brief VR outperformed audio on self-reported wellbeing among stressed university students.

Tiny Blue Dot Foundation requests new proposals for research: up to $9M

The Perception Box is Tiny Blue Dot founder Elizabeth Koch's term for the mental models we walk around inside. Built from our beliefs, upbringing, physiology and the meaning we made of our traumas. It filters everything we see. The foundation wants to know how that filter changes.

With a new request for proposals, Tiny Blue Dot will fund up to 10 projects each up to $900,000 over three years. It funds foundational and applied work, including research that uses interventions, technologies, practices or transformative experiences to investigate the question.

Four areas are named this round: agency and independence, interoception and emotional regulation, identity and self-narrative, and values, meaning and belonging. These are Spirit Tech's sensing, companion, deep psyche and community layers under different names.

If you're interested in non-dilutive funding for research that uses your product as the instrument, submit your proposal before October 5.

Company Spotlights

• Attuned.world: Nervous-system regulation app combining haptic sound-vibration and guided audio with live human "anchors" for calming co-regulation.

• The Path: AI mental-health therapy app with evidence-based CBT/ACT coaching and 11 therapist personas built by Calm alumni and Tony Robbins.

Explore our Spirit Tech Organizations directory, a living map of 490+ orgs we track and update weekly.

New Jobs This Week

• Clinical Research Operations Manager @ Nudge: Run the human-studies operations for a neurotech startup building a non-invasive ultrasound device that stimulates and images the brain at depth. San Francisco.

• Build Engineer @ Thatgamecompany: Own the CI/CD build-and-release pipelines behind the live social game from the studio behind Sky and Journey. Remote (US/Canada) · $82k–$120k.

• Head of Creative, Paid Social @ Slingshot AI: Own end-to-end paid-social creative for Ash, "the first AI designed for mental health," from concept through weekly test-and-scale loops. London.

Browse the Spirit Tech jobs board for more roles, or to post one at your organization.

New from the Community

• Soulprint: A personality profile as multidimensional as you are

• Remindful breathing retraining: Personalised breathing retraining

• Train a Happy Mind: Train your mind for happiness, connection, and purpose

Check out a variety of other new ideas and products across Spirit Tech.