After acquiring Colorado’s Meditation Studio in July, Toronto brainwave-sensing hardware company Interaxon began its search for a U.S. headquarters.
The company narrowed its gaze to Denver and Boulder in recent months, as a Rocky Mountain home base was a natural fit following the move for Meditation Studio, an app that offers over 400 original guided meditations and courses.
Interaxon officially announced yesterday that it would settle in Denver, opening the company’s first U.S. office in a growing healthcare tech space.
CEO Derek Luke said the opportunity to move into Denver healthcare hub Catalyst HTI was a primary driver for Interaxon’s decision.
“What we liked about the facility, is the synergy of the people there. It’s full of mission-based companies that are focused on making people’s lives better,” Luke said.
Catalyst opened in July with the mission of connecting startups, Fortune 100 companies, government, academic and non-profit organizations with healthcare providers and payers to accelerate innovation and drive change. Industry leaders like Kaiser Permanent, UC Health and Delta Dental already occupy offices in the RiNo space.
Interaxon’s core product, the Muse, is a brain sensing headband designed to help users meditate by providing real-time audio and visual feedback on their meditative state through a companion app.
Despite being the first neurotech and meditation company to join Catalyst, the Interaxon team is excited for the collaboration that will come from working out of the space.
"We deeply believe in the transformative power of meditation and are on a mission to connect people to a mindfulness practice in a modern and approachable way," said Cyd Crouse, CMO of Muse and co-founder of Meditation Studio. "The decision to open an office at Catalyst HTI and be surrounded by thought leaders who share a similar vision was an easy choice for us."
Currently, Luke said four employees work out of the Denver office. He hopes to grow that total to six in the coming months, before building out a larger design and development team here. The company has 65 total employees, with most working out of the Toronto office.
Luke said he’s confident Interaxon will find top talent in Colorado to continue the company’s growth.
“We’re finding them without using recruiters,” he said of early hiring returns. “These are constrained markets across tech hub areas, but we’re confident we can find them.”
As the company grows, Luke said they will continue to expand product and service offerings, reinforcing Interaxon’s contributions to brain health.
Interaxon is exploring ways to further apply the Muse technology, working with major players like the Mayo Clinic, NASA and MIT to find opportunities to utilize the brain research.
