Halo Neuroscience

Halo was founded by Daniel Chao and Brett Wingeier. Chao, Chief Evangelist, has an MD from Stanford and MS in Neuroscience. He is former head of business development at NeuroPace, a McKinsey consultant and co-founder and CEO of Lumos Catheter Systems. Wingeier is Co-CEO and has a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane and was former principal engineer and clinical scientist at NeuroPace. Mark Mastalir is Co-CEO and graduated with a BA, MA from Stanford and the Harvard Business School General Management Program. He formally worked at Nike, Wrigley and the NBA as senior marketer and is an athlete who competed in the 1992 Olympic Track and Field Trials.

The company’s product Halo Sport is a headset the uses pulses of energy meant to improve the brain’s response to training by affecting connections between neurons and muscles. When learning something new, synapses that receive signals associated with that activity fire more rapidly. Halo Sport is claimed to increase the brain’s natural plasticity and create or strengthen motor pathways faster. With the device, small electric current is applied to the motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls movement. This causes the neurons to fire more often during training. The form of brain stimulation used is called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).

Halo claims the device can provide benefits when used along with rigorous training. Halo is designed to boost the brain’s ability to learn or perfect skills that involve motion. It is claimed to improve what is called “muscle memory” through the brain and the pattern of signals that brain sends the muscles. Co-founder Daniel Chao views the Halo headset as similar to how glasses or shoes can improve vision or make it easier to run.

In 2019, a study by researchers at Shanghai University of Sport provided evidence that Halo Sport can improve cycling performance and cognitive performance in a Stroop test. NFL Cleveland Browns cornerback TJ Carrie used Halo and was reported to have gained eight inches on his vertical jump after four weeks of use. The US ski also used the device and report an increase in their jump force by 31% after 11 days of training. Golfer Mitch Dobbyn was also reported to have improved performance after using the device. Pianist, Mario Marzo was reported to have sped up his muscle memory and learned to play a Bach prelude quicker.