Brain Health Startup Ivory Launches Innovative 'Treadmill Test' for Cognitive Assessments & Preventive Care

The new capital will enhance Ivory’s product offerings, expand clinical capabilities, and develop intellectual property focused on cognitive screening.

Brain health startup Ivory has introduced a groundbreaking "treadmill test" for the brain, aiming to bridge a significant gap in cognitive health assessment.

Founded in 2023 by Issac John and Rahul Krishnan during an Antler residency program, Ivory's AI-powered, neuroscience-based platform provides measurable and trackable cognitive functions, including attention, memory, and executive function.

Ivory’s cognitive assessments give users a baseline score that is benchmarked against age and gender, alongside a detailed breakdown of various cognitive skills and actionable recommendations for improvement.

This innovative approach positions Ivory as a preventive health solution for brain health, an area often overlooked in routine healthcare.

"Our goal is to make cognitive testing a routine part of healthcare, starting as early as the 40s. Today, most people seek help only when symptoms become severe, which limits intervention," Krishnan said. "If we can bring cognitive screening into preventive care, we can potentially delay or reduce the incidence of serious conditions like dementia."

The startup recently secured $1 million in funding from Draper Associates and SAGE Venture Fund, with additional participation from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MOSJE) and managed by IFCI Venture, a subsidiary of IFCI Limited, along with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

The new capital will enhance Ivory’s product offerings, expand clinical capabilities, and develop intellectual property focused on cognitive screening.

Amidst increasing institutional interest in preventive health solutions with scalable real-world impact, Ivory has formed a partnership with Metropolis Healthcare to include its assessments in preventive health packages.

The company is also in talks with various diagnostic chains, insurers, and corporate wellness platforms and is collaborating with longevity and performance-focused platforms, such as Ultrahuman.

"The broader idea is to embed cognitive assessment across different healthcare touchpoints-diagnostics, insurance, corporate wellness, and even sleep and longevity programmes," John said.

Ivory's screening tools are designed to assist clinicians in distinguishing early cognitive decline from temporary lifestyle-induced issues such as brain fog, stress, or poor sleep.

The company aims to transition from traditional, subjective questionnaires to objective, data-driven measurements.

Currently, Ivory is developing clinically validated tools that utilize a combination of digital markers and voice-based biomarkers, with ongoing trials in hospital settings to establish baseline datasets.

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