# Openwater

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/openwater
Openwater is a San Francisco company founded in 2016 by Mary Lou Jepsen that builds low-cost, open-source devices using light and ultrasound: Open-Motion reads blood flow in the brain to spot strokes, Open-LIFU stimulates brain circuits.

## In brief

- Open-sources its designs: software under the Affero GPL, hardware under a Creative Commons licence.
- Raised $100M in total by August 2024 from investors including Khosla Ventures and Peter Gabriel.
- Neither device is FDA cleared yet; the stroke detector is furthest along. Aims for units under $1,000.

## Facts

- Founded: 2016
- Headquarters: US
- Status: private
- Frontiers: [Neurotech](https://technooptimist.io/neurotech.md) (Non-invasive brain reading)

## Programs

- [Open-Motion stroke detector](https://technooptimist.io/neurotech/open-motion.md) (Neurotech): Pilot; next: Validate in ambulances and file with FDA. Research use only; peer-reviewed studies at US stroke centres, FDA filing still ahead
- [Open-LIFU](https://technooptimist.io/neurotech/open-lifu.md) (Neurotech): Pilot; next: Larger randomised controlled trials. Research device at MIT, Barcelona, NC State/UNC and others; depression pilot showed 35% remission

## Technical approach

- **Light: Infrared speckle reads blood flow**: Near-infrared light shone through the skull scatters off moving blood; changes in the speckle pattern trace blood flow with each heartbeat.
- **Sound: Steerable low-intensity ultrasound**: An ultrasound array focuses gentle sound energy on a chosen brain region to nudge its activity, without surgery and while the wearer can move.
- **Open source: Phone-industry parts, shared blueprints**: Built from consumer-electronics components, with code and designs licensed openly so labs can modify them and share safety data.

## Open problems

- **Regulatory clearance for each use** (open): Every indication needs its own FDA review; the CEO said in 2025 the stroke device could be a couple of years from approval.

## Latest updates

- **7 May 2026**: NC State and UNC deploy Open-LIFU to study tremor, spasticity and transverse myelitis. Nitin Sharma's lab at the NC State/UNC biomedical engineering department and UNC neurologists are using Open-LIFU to test focused ultrasound on brain and spinal circuits. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/nc-state-and-unc-deploy-open-lifu-to-study-tremor-spasticity-and-07a22bce.md) · [original source](https://www.itnonline.com/content/sharma-lab-deploys-open-lifu-multidisciplinary-neurological-research-nc-state-unc%C2%A0))
- **8 May 2025**: Studies show Openwater's portable blood flow monitor detects large-vessel strokes better than standard field scales. A Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases paper showed Open-Motion can be tuned toward catching more large-clot strokes or toward fewer false alarms, to fit transport distances and hospital capabilities. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/studies-show-openwater-s-portable-blood-flow-monitor-detects-large-770ab667.md) · [original source](https://www.einpresswire.com/article/810706727/researchers-using-openwater-monitor-report-accurate-detection-of-large-vessel-occlusion-in-suspected-stroke))
- **7 Apr 2025**: Open-LIFU depression pilot: 35% of 20 patients reach remission after under two hours of ultrasound. A University of Arizona study in Frontiers in Psychiatry gave 20 people with depression 11 ten-minute sessions of Open-LIFU 2.0 over three weeks, aimed at the anterior medial prefrontal cortex. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/open-lifu-depression-pilot-35-of-20-patients-reach-remission-after-409802a2.md) · [original source](https://www.medicaldevice-developments.com/news/study-reveals-effectiveness-of-open-lifu-2-0-in-reducing-depression-symptoms/))
- **26 Aug 2024**: Openwater reaches $100M in total funding for its open-source light and ultrasound medical devices. Openwater said it has raised $100 million in total from new and existing investors. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/openwater-reaches-100m-in-total-funding-for-its-open-source-light-and-f46a4531.md) · [original source](https://pulse2.com/openwater-medical-technology-company-raises-100-million-in-total-funding/))

## Partners, customers and investors

- Khosla Ventures (investor)
- Plum Alley Ventures (investor)
- University of Pennsylvania (partner): Christopher Favilla's team ran the stroke detection studies.
- University of Arizona (partner): Ran the Open-LIFU depression study.
- NC State University and UNC-Chapel Hill (partner): Deployed Open-LIFU for tremor, spasticity and transverse myelitis research (2026).

## People

- Mary Lou Jepsen, Founder and chair
- Aaron Timm, CEO

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