Vinaya, founded in mid 2013, applies psychology and neuroscience research to consumer product design. Its initial product line, Altrius, is a collection of high-end connected jewelry (ring, bracelet, necklace) that filters notifications via a companion iOS app. Altrius items are made from sterling silver with gold plating and are priced at £220–£275; the collection is launching in pre-order for holiday shipping. The company is establishing a research lab to feed academic insights into product development and plans a future smart-home device codenamed Zephyr. Vinaya positions its products as behaviorally informed alternatives to screen-based wearables, aiming to help “hyper connected” users leave their phones out of sight and regain control of notifications. The seed funding will support the lab, scale manufacturing of Altrius, and product development for its next product (still in stealth).

Total raised

$3M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Nov 2015