Apple acquires neural-sensor startup Sonera Magnetics
Apple's acquisition of Berkeley-based magnetic-sensor startup Sonera Magnetics, closed in May 2026 and disclosed publicly on 8 September 2026 via the European Commission's Digital Markets Act acquisitions database, is the company's first move from hosting third-party brain-computer interface signals to owning proprietary neural-sensor IP. Sonera builds solid-state acoustically-driven ferromagnetic resonance (ADFMR) magnetometers, a room-temperature alternative to SQUID-based magnetoencephalography (MEG). The company raised US$11 million in seed financing in September 2023 from a lead-heavy syndicate including Founders Fund, Benchmark, Amplify Partners, IVP, Craft Ventures, and 8VC. Deal terms were not disclosed. Sonera's website was taken offline post-acquisition. Apple's prior BCI-adjacent moves were the AirPods ear-canal biosignal patent (filed January 2023), the BCI HID accessibility protocol for iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and visionOS 26 launched with Synchron on 13 May 2025, and hosting of Cognixion's non-invasive EEG clinical trial on Vision Pro from October 2025. Owning Sonera's magnetic-sensor IP puts Apple directly against Meta's Neural Band (surface EMG) and the non-surgical BCI operator field (Merge Labs ultrasound, Subsense nanoparticle, Neurable EEG earbuds).