Apple Acquires Assets From Biomagnetic Sensing Startup Sonera

The transaction comes as Apple expands health-sensing capabilities across its wearable devices.

Apple has acquired certain assets from biomagnetic sensing and neural data startup Sonera, with the transaction disclosed earlier this year through a European Commission filing under the Digital Markets Act. The deal also includes employment offers to some Sonera employees. Financial terms were not disclosed.

California-based Sonera, which originated at the University of California, Berkeley, develops chip-based magnetic sensors that detect signals generated by activity in the brain, nerves and muscles. The European Commission disclosure described the transaction as Apple acquiring certain assets from the company through a subsidiary.

Sonera's technology is based on measuring magnetic fields generated by electrical currents associated with neural activity. Unlike conventional electrical sensors, the approach does not require direct skin contact while aiming to capture high-fidelity biological signals.

The company's first commercial application was the S1 chip, designed for muscle sensing. Sonera said in 2023, when it announced an $11 million seed funding round, that the technology could support a range of applications, including advanced prosthetic control, continuous monitoring of neuromuscular conditions, disease biomarker discovery and sports performance tracking.

The acquisition has also been acknowledged by UC Berkeley, which lists Sonera as having been acquired by Apple in 2026.

The transaction comes as Apple expands health-sensing capabilities across its wearable devices. This week, Apple unveiled the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, featuring a redesigned Health Sensing System with new optical and electrical heart sensors.

Apple said the new devices measure heart rate every five seconds throughout the day and track heart rate variability more frequently than earlier models. The company also said the Apple Watch Series 12 has its most accurate heart-rate sensing in a wearable to date.

Alongside the new hardware, Apple introduced a redesigned Health app that uses Apple Intelligence to analyze health information and generate personalized insights for users.

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