InteraXon Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ariel Garten denied reports that Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin approached her with an acquisition offer, VentureBeat reported.
According to the rumor mill, Garten informed Brin that her Toronto-based startup was not interested in being acquired. However, Garten told VentureBeat in an interview that Brin made no such proposal. She said, "I certainly know Sergey and have talked to him and lots of companies but there was no acquisition offer."
She added that she did not know the source of the rumor but described the report as "flattering." A spokesperson from Google did not comment on the news, the report said. TechCrunch, which first reported the rumor yesterday, however said that their source "remains confident" people from Google approached the startup.
Garten said that they are now working on creating more products. InteraXon's flagship is Muse, a headband which tracks brainwaves which the company intends to roll out in May for a $300 price tag. Muse features six EEG sensors that monitor five kinds of brainwaves. With the headband on, the user can concentrate on doing a particular activity so that changes made in brainwave patterns are repeated. Digital signals about these patterns are then received by an application on a device. With continued and precise monitoring of these brainwave patterns then a large variety of potential tasks can be done using the power of thought, the report said.
According to the TechCrunch report yesterday, some of the possible applications of Muse include pouring the user his or her own beer or turning on television from a remote location.
Garten told VentureBeat that Calm is InteraXon's first application. It will utilize the brainwave-tracking technology to help control a person's "cognitive pressures, to shut down that little voice in your head." Pre-orders are currently being accepted for Muse, the report said.
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