Facebook to Acquire Brain-computing Company CTRL-labs

Social media giant Facebook announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire brain-computing start up CTRL-labs.

New York-based CTRL-labs specializes in allowing humans to control computers using their brains. The company was founded in 2015 by Thomas Reardon and Patrick Kaifosh, who both received their PhDs in neuroscience from Columbia University. CTRL-labs has raised $28 million in February from Alphabet’s GV and Amazon’s Alexa Fund.

Facebook did not reveal how much it is going to pay for the company. but according to CNBC, citing sources who are familiar with the situation, the deal is valued between $500 million and $1 billion. A Facebook spokesperson did say that it was lower than $1 billion.

CTRL-labs will join Facebook Reality Labs, a division of the company that works to make augmented reality smart glasses.

“Technology like this has the potential to open up new creative possibilities and reimagine 19th century inventions in a 21st century world,” said Facebook Vice President of AR/VR Andrew “Boz” Bosworth in a post on his personal Facebook page. “This is how our interactions in VR and AR can one day look. It can change the way we connect.”

According to Bosworth, the vision for CTLR-labs’ technology is that it will use a wristband that allows people to control their devices.

“Here’s how it’ll work: You have neurons in your spinal cord that send electrical signals to your hand muscles telling them to move in specific ways such as to click a mouse or press a button,” Bosworth wrote.

He added, “The wristband will decode those signals and translate them into a digital signal your device can understand, empowering you with control over your digital life.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Facebook, Inc. Common Stock (NASDAQ: FB) and have not been compensated for this article.