Since we launched Lumosity last year, we’ve heard lots of feedback from users saying you love the brain games, and the feeling of getting smarter and seeing your improvement. One thing many of you have requested is more exercises and games. Well, we’ve just raised $3 million from 2 top venture capital firms, as well as some really smart individual investors, in order to keep improving Lumosity so it’s always the best site for brain training.
Our new partners are FirstMark Capital and Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), and together we will be able to continue our research into how to increase brain performance and maintain brain health in the best – and most enjoyable – ways possible.
The official press release is on the next page.
Brain Fitness and
Game Development Organization Raises $3 Million to Further Research
Brain researchers’ quest to improve brain fitness advanced by
FirstMark Capital and Norwest Venture Partners investment
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – June 3, 2008 – Lumos Labs, developer of Lumosity.com, the leading web-based provider of scientifically-tested brain games, today announced that it has raised $3 million of equity financing from FirstMark Capital, Norwest Venture Partners (NVP), and existing investors including Michael Dearing.
The investor group brings expertise that will catalyze the ongoing development of Lumosity.com and support Lumos Labs’ mission to improve lives by enhancing brain fitness.
“Lumos Labs is at the center of a booming interest in cognitive exercise and the emerging science about the remarkable plasticity of the brain,” said Amish Jani of FirstMark Capital. “Lumosity.com has seen tremendous demand from users and partners alike by leveraging the power of the web to deliver a unique platform for brain fitness.”
Lumosity.com’s programs consist of game-like exercises designed to train and improve cognitive functions. The programs target different parts of the brain, and are experimentally tested with the help of collaborators at top academic institutions. Users pay a monthly subscription to use the program and track their progress with detailed performance reports and feedback.
“In our analysis, Lumosity.com stood out from its competitors because of its best-in-class combination of engaging games and scientific rigor,” said Tim Chang of Norwest Venture Partners. “This unique combination has led to a strong market demand for Lumosity.com’s offerings and has created a leader in the emerging market for brain fitness.”
“We’re excited to take basic neuroscience and psychology findings out of the lab and deliver them to consumers in a way that is actually improving their lives,” said Michael Scanlon, Chief Scientific Officer of Lumos Labs. “This investment will enable us to significantly expand the diversity of games we offer, while further advancing the field through creative innovations and research with our academic collaborators.”
About Lumos Labs
Founded in 2005, Lumos Labs, Inc. creates innovative neuroscience-based tools that empower people to lead better lives through improved brain health and performance. Lumos Labs is a pioneer in developing scientifically designed and experimentally tested online brain fitness programs. The company works in collaboration with leading scientists in neuroscience and cognitive psychology from Stanford, UCSF, and other leading research institutions to bring beneficial and innovative products to market. Lumosity.com is the online brain performance program researched and developed by Lumos Labs, and is scientifically demonstrated to improve cognitive function in adults through a series of engaging exercises and brain games. For more information, please visit www.lumosity.com.
About FirstMark Capital
FirstMark Capital is the direct venture investment arm of Pequot Capital Management, Inc. FirstMark is focused on today’s most dynamic startup and growth-stage companies in the technology industry. For more than a decade, FirstMark has partnered with talented entrepreneurs and experienced managers to build market-leading enterprises. With nearly $2 billion in capital commitments, FirstMark brings energy, insight and substantial sector expertise to create competitive, sustainable businesses and long-term value. FirstMark Capital will continue to invest in high-growth businesses which are leading the technology revolution. Select investments include: Netgear, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTGR); First Advantage Corp. (NASDAQ: FADV); StubHub, Inc (Acquired by eBay, Inc.); Netegrity, Inc. (Acquired by CA Inc); Flarion, Inc. (Acquired by Qualcomm, Inc.); OutlookSoft Inc. (Acquired by SAP AG); Analex Corp. (Acquired by QinetiQ); Vallent (Acquired by IBM) and Syndesis (Acquired by Subex). For more information, please visit http://www.firstmarkcap.com/.
About Norwest Venture Partners (NVP)
Norwest Venture Partners (NVP) is a global venture capital firm that has actively partnered with entrepreneurs to build great businesses for more than 45 years. NVP focuses on investments in information technology including: Internet, media and consumer, software, services, enterprise and communications systems and semiconductor/components. The firm currently manages more than $2.5 billion in venture capital out of its office in Palo Alto, California. NVP has funded over 400 companies in the U.S. since inception. Some of the firm’s recent investments and transactions include Adventity, Airespace (acquired by Cisco Systems), deCarta, DoubleFusion, Jigsaw, KACE, mBlox, Omneon, Open-Silicon (acquired by Unicorn Investment Bank), Persistent Systems, Rackspace, SideStep (acquired by Kayak), Spinnaker Networks (acquired by Network Appliance), Winphoria Networks (acquired by Motorola) Yatra, and Yipes (acquired by Reliance/Flag Telecom). NVP has also funded such market leaders as Actel Corporation, Cerent (acquired by Cisco Systems), Documentum, Extreme Networks, Forte Software (acquired by Sun Microsystems), PeopleSoft and Tivoli Systems (acquired by IBM). For more information, please visit www.nvp.com.
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