Prophetic, a recently established startup backed by venture capital, envisions a future where individuals can utilize one-third of their lives spent asleep for productive work. The company introduces the “Halo,” a headpiece designed to induce a lucid dream state, where dreamers are conscious of being asleep. The objective is to empower individuals to control their dreams, enabling them to use this time creatively. According to Eric Wollberg, the founder and CEO, the applications are diverse—CEOs can rehearse for board meetings, athletes can run through plays, and web designers can conceptualize new templates.
While various consumer devices claim to induce lucid dreaming, Prophetic’s innovation aims to address the existing demand for more effective technologies. Many devices in the market, such as headbands, eye masks, and electrode-laden boxes, as well as certain supplements, have fallen short of delivering promised results. Despite the challenges, there remains a keen interest in such technologies due to the immense potential for enhancing creativity and problem-solving during the dream state, as acknowledged by experts in dreaming.
The true potential of lucid dreaming lies not merely in solving specific issues but in unlocking new and innovative approaches to subjects that may have been inconceivable during wakefulness. For instance, while a mathematician may not arrive at a precise numerical solution to a problem in a dream, the lucid dream provides a platform to explore novel strategies that can be applied when awake.
The initial design concepts for the Halo reveal a headband-shaped device resembling a crown, intended to be worn by users. This innovative technology operates by emitting focused ultrasound beams—sound waves commonly employed in monitoring fetal health in the womb—targeting a specific region of the brain associated with lucid dreaming. Prophetic asserts that these beams will stimulate the brain areas responsible for decision-making and awareness, thereby initiating the lucid dreaming experience. Collaborating on the development of the Halo is Afshin Mehin, the founder of Card79 and designer of the Neuralink N1 device for Elon Musk’s brain implant company.
Founded in March by Eric Wollberg and Wesley Louis Berry III, who serves as the chief technology officer and has a background in augmented reality art, Prophetic is advancing the boundaries of technology to unlock the potential of lucid dreaming. Wollberg, with prior experience at Gnowbe, a 500 Global–backed edtech startup, and Praxis, a startup funded by Bedrock and Paradigm with ambitions to construct a futuristic city in the Mediterranean, brings a wealth of knowledge to the venture. Prophetic has secured $1.1 million in Series A funding from Escape Velocity, O’Shaughnessy Ventures, and BoxGroup.
Control is what we want
Despite the enthusiasm surrounding the Halo and similar headband technologies for inducing lucid dreaming, skeptics, such as Antonio Zadra, a psychology professor specializing in sleep and dreaming at the University of Montreal, caution against oversimplifying the process. Zadra, who is also a frequent lucid dreamer, highlights the challenges of not only entering a lucid dream state but also maintaining control once achieved. He emphasizes that control in a dream, a crucial aspect for practical applications like job preparation or creative design, is a formidable task even for experienced lucid dreamers.
Acknowledging the complexity, Wollberg underscores the importance of combining the Halo or other headbands with mindfulness techniques, including meditation, maintaining a dream journal, and visualizing dream scenarios before sleep. In response to skepticism, Wollberg refers to studies correlating prefrontal cortex activation with dream control, indicating that increased stimulation enhances users’ ability to control their dreams. However, these studies are recommended for further testing to validate their hypotheses.
Prophetic’s reliance on research from the Donders Institute in the Netherlands is integral to its product development. The company aims to identify specific brain areas and ultrasound wave frequencies crucial for inducing lucid dreams, with data expected in spring 2024 and device shipments starting in spring 2025.
Anticipating a price range of $1,500 to $2,000 for the Halos, Wollberg reveals that the company has generated significant interest, with several hundred thousand dollars in booking revenue within the initial weeks of opening reservations. While the exact number of sign-ups remains undisclosed, this suggests a substantial waitlist for the innovative dream-inducing technology.
