This startup designed a Fitbit for your brain to combat chronic stress

Antonio Forenza was working as head of R&D at Rakuten Symphony, the Japanese conglomerate’s telecommunications company, when he realized he needed to find a better way to manage his stress levels.

A few years ago, he had lost 40 pounds with the help of his Apple Watch, which counted steps and tracked calorie burn, and began wondering if there was a similar device to assess his stress level.

“I wanted to lose 40 pounds of stress, and I realized that today there was nothing to wear for that,” Forenza told TechCrunch.

It was then that Forenza realized he faced a gap in the consumer health market. Drawing on his engineering background, he decided to build the device himself, using more than a century-old technology: electroencephalogram (EEG) to detect and measure electrical activity in the brain.

While EEG is used clinically to diagnose diseases such as epilepsy and sleep disorders, it can also detect psychological stress by measuring high-frequency brain waves called beta waves. When these rapid beta waves continue for long periods, they can lead to fatigue, insomnia, and mental disturbance.

Forenza collaborated with data scientists and biomedical engineers to develop Awear, a small device worn behind the ear to continuously monitor brain waves. The device transmits the results to an app that provides information about the wearer’s mood and offers AI-powered training tips for managing stress and improving emotional resilience.

“Our brain is exceptional at self-adapting, and makes us believe that we are not stressed,” Forenza said. “It’s good to be in ‘fight or flight’ mode once in a while. It’s part of our nature. But if you fall into the trap of constant ‘fight or flight’, it leads to chronic stress, depression, and anxiety.”

Forenza claims that Awear helps users proactively intercept excessive stress before it leads to negative health effects.

Awear was a finalist in the Startup Battlefield 200 at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, where it won the health category pitch competition.

While Stanford University’s Department of Psychiatry is currently testing the device to detect disorientation and disorientation in elderly patients after surgery, Forenza’s primary focus is selling Awear to individual consumers, similar to the approach taken by the Oura Ring and other consumer wearable devices.

Earlier this year, Awear closed a seed funding round led by Hustle Fund, Niremia Collective, Techstars, and The Pitch Fund, and the company plans to raise a $5 million seed funding round in early 2026.

Right now, Awear is only available for purchase through its Early Access program. The device is available to early adopters — a group that already includes many other startup founders, and a notoriously nervous group — for $195, which includes a free lifetime subscription to the app.

After raising its seed round, the company will launch a Kickstarter campaign, following a strategy used by devices like Peloton and Oura. “This path has worked for many other wearables,” Forenza said. “It gives you a lot of visibility and is a good way to acquire customers.”