US group Snap, the parent company of social network Snapchat, announced on Wednesday its acquisition of Parisian startup NextMind, which is developing technology that measures neuron activity in order to control electronic devices using the brain.

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The transaction amount has not been sent. NextMind staff will continue to operate from Paris. Snap a indiqué que cette acquisition lui servirait à approfondir ses recherches et ses projets dans le domaine de la réalité augmentée, notamment ses lunettes connectées «Spectacles», qui ne sont pour l’heure disponibles que pours les de cr public.

Founded by French neuroscientist Syed Koueider, NextMind presented its technology in January 2020 at the annual Las Vegas Tech Show (CES). Then the mini-imaging session showed the volunteers placing a headband around their skull fitted with sensors that measure nerve signals and supposedly understand a person’s intentions, then translate them into appropriate applications. It started handing over its kits to developers as of December 2020. According to the American specialist website VentureBeat, these kits sell for $399.

“Non-invasive” technology

NexMind insists that its technology is too “Non-Surgical”that is, it does not require implanting a chip under the skin, as suggested in particular by Neuralink, a startup co-founded by billionaire Elon Musk, head of Tesla for electric cars and SpaceX rockets.

“This technology measures neural activity to understand your intentions when interacting with a computer interface by allowing you to press a virtual button, simply by focusing on it.”Snape said in a statement. This technology does not “read” thoughts or send signals to the brain.The company added.