Karavela AI is developing a large-scale artificial intelligence model of the human brain to advance diagnostics and brain-computer interfaces. The startup is creating the first “foundation model” for the brain – analogous to foundational AI models in language – by training on massive task-based fMRI data to learn general representations of neural activity. This model can then be adapted to identify biomarkers of neurological diseases or to decode brain signals for BCI applications.

Karavela gathers an extensive fMRI dataset of many individuals performing a variety of cognitive tasks in the scanner. Using deep learning, it trains a network to predict and interpret brain activation patterns across these tasks, effectively learning the fundamental structure of brain functional organization. The resulting AI model encapsulates knowledge of how different brain regions activate and connect during various behaviors. Clinically, this can be used to detect when a new patient’s fMRI deviates from normal patterns (indicating a disorder) – for example, subtle differences in connectivity or activation that might be early signs of Alzheimer’s. The model can also be fine-tuned for BCIs, translating real-time fMRI or other neuroimaging signals into intended outputs by leveraging its rich embedded understanding of brain dynamics. Karavela’s platform requires significant data infrastructure and computing power, and it represents a convergence of neuroscience and cutting-edge AI.

In diagnostics, Karavela’s foundation model could enable new MRI-based tests where patient scans are compared against the AI’s learned normals to flag early neurological disease (e.g. distinguishing early Parkinson’s or classifying subtypes of depression based on brain network signatures). It also aids discovery of quantitative biomarkers that traditional imaging analysis misses. In BCIs, the model can improve decoding algorithms for neuroimaging-driven communication or control systems by providing a pretrained “brain prior.” More broadly, this technology accelerates neuroscience research by allowing investigators to probe the model for how cognitive functions are represented, generating hypotheses about brain organization. By unlocking latent patterns in big brain data, Karavela AI is at the forefront of AI-driven neurotech, aiming to transform both clinical neurology and brain–machine interfacing.