Karavela

Karavela is a neuroscience research company based in Paris, France, that is building a foundation model of the human brain. The work centres on next-generation magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and deep learning, with the goal of reconstructing stimuli from recorded brain activity. The company was founded to advance understanding of the human brain through large-scale data collection and modelling of brain dynamics.

At the core of Karavela's approach is a brain dynamics dataset collected by the company itself, capturing responses to naturalistic stimuli such as audiobooks, podcasts, and radio programmes. Karavela aims for this to be the largest dataset of human brain dynamics to date. Trained on this data, its deep learning models support brain decoding research on naturalistic stimuli and the reconstruction of stimuli from brain activity.

Downstream applications draw on learned model representations to deliver clinical biomarkers for neurological and psychiatric diseases and to support clinical trials through AI. The company's work spans neuroscience research, healthcare and clinical trials, diagnostics, pharmaceuticals and drug development, and AI research.

Karavela has raised €2M in pre-seed funding from investors including HCVC, Daphni, and First Momentum. It is organised into three specialised teams - data collection, model development, and clinical applications - combining neuroscience, MRI data collection, and deep learning.