Join us for an evening exploring the frontiers of brain science and technology, in partnership with Convergent Research. Get a closer look at ARIA’s Precision Neurotechnologies Programme, discover how new models might help solve Neurotech’s hardest problems, and connect with the people driving the field forward!
Meaningful ideas and changes are sparked when serendipitous connection collides with intention. The Thursday Gathering is our free, weekly meet-up that connects people from across Edinburgh’s innovation community to make things happen. Every Thursday, we bring together innovators of all backgrounds, from founders and investors to students and researchers, to discuss big ideas and connect human to human.
Community Partner:
Powered by Advanced Research + Invention Agency
If you require accessibility assistance or special accommodations, please contact us at hello@venturecafeedinburgh.org ahead of the event.
Grab a drink, and join the conversation! Whether you're looking to meet potential collaborators, exchange ideas, grow your network, or simply continue the conversation, this is a great opportunity to connect with fellow innovators, entrepreneurs, and members of the community. You never know where a conversation might lead!
Find out more about the exciting startups in our ecosystem at our Innovator Showcase - the perfect chance to meet the people behind the ideas.
- Convergent Research – Convergent Research identifies and develops Focused Research Organisations (FRO) within our opportunity spaces. Working with our Programme Directors and the UK research ecosystem, Convertent runs the FRO Founder Residency to refine concepts and has launched two UK FROs, creating a new route for scientists to pursue ambitious, large-scale research projects.
- NeuroStripe – NeuroStripe’s innovative chipsets enable simultaneous neural recording, stimulation, and real-time on-chip neural signal decoding. By delivering instant insight into how the brain responds to stimulation, our chipsets enable precise, closed-loop bioelectronic therapies delivered at the exact right millisecond.
- Aelo – Aelo is building the cognitive data layer for wearable technology. Think Whoop, Garmin and Oura, but for the brain. Its sensor ‘pod’ uses fNIRS, the same class of measurement as an fMRI scanner, made small enough to wear in a cap, headband or hard hat. It reads blood flow and oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex and turns it into metrics people can act on, including CoreScore, how ready your brain is before a session, and FormScore, how it performed across it. Aelo is starting in sport, with golf, running and endurance, and racket sports, for elite and serious amateur athletes and their coaches.
- NEUROBITE – NEUROBITE Technologies is an innovative spin-out from the University of Glasgow, focused on developing biodegradable, implantable medical devices designed to treat neurological conditions, such as stroke and epilepsy. We are working on cutting-edge technology aimed at stimulating brain regions affected by these conditions, promoting neuroplasticity, and enhancing recovery. Our approach is designed to reduce the need for multiple surgeries, minimise invasive procedures, and offer a more patient-centered solution for post-stroke rehabilitation and epilepsy monitoring.
- Cambridge NeuroWorks – Cambridge NeuroWorks, supported by Cambridge University Health Partners, is bringing together a UK-wide community of research, clinical and translational organisations to drive breakthroughs and patient impact in our Scalable Neural Interfaces opportunity space. Its two fellowship programmes enable the exploration of speculative neurotechnology ideas and their subsequent translation to patients.
Explore an interactive visual experience where signals from the brain and body influence digital art. Discover how these signals can shape colour, motion, patterns and evolving landscapes, bringing together neurotechnology, creative expression and playful experimentation. Watch the artwork develop and learn how the signals influence what appears on screen. No artistic or technical experience is needed.
What if you could see and step inside your creative state of mind? Experience Zeitgeist, an immersive AI-mediated neurofeedback system training Flow mental states —the state of deep engagement, creativity and brain health. Discover its interactive web and virtual reality experiences, where neuroscience meets audiovisual art to make invisible mental processes tangible. Co-created by Dr Shama Rahman and Dr Oliver Gingrich, Zeitgeist draws on AI research developed through NeuroCreate, Shama’s creative neurotechnology company. A 2026 Lumen Prize finalist, Zeitgeist invites you to explore new possibilities for human creativity, connection and immersive technology.
With Halloween right around the corner, there's no better time for a spooky session!
In this hands-on drop-in, you’ll sketch the creature you become once the clocks go back — zombie, ghost, werewolf, something stranger — and turn it into your own Halloween mug design.
More than a craft activity, it’s a chance to switch off, keep your hands busy, and have an honest laugh with the people beside you. No experience needed. Just bring your spooky ideas!
Join Jake Barrett-Mills, Ailsa’s Head of Service Delivery, for a practical 30-minute workshop on where grants fit in a wider funding plan, how to judge whether an opportunity is worth pursuing, and how to avoid becoming dependent on grant funding. We can use examples and leave time for questions.
Take a seat and hear from Venture Café Edinburgh Director, Claudia Cavalluzzo who will go through how to make the most of a Thursday Gathering, and Corey Ruzicano from Convergent Research who give you a quick preview of what's in line for this week's event.
Venture Café is a global movement built on a simple but powerful belief: isolation is the enemy of innovation.
At our weekly Thursday Gatherings, we connect creators, entrepreneurs, investors, coworkers, students and visionaries to build strong, inclusive and equitable innovation ecosystem. As ecosystem activators, Venture Café Edinburgh is creating a central hub for the city's innovation ecosystem, driving visibility, collaboration and community.
And if you’d like to get more involved with Venture Café, there are plenty of ways to join our network:
🤝 Become a partner
🎤 Speak at an upcoming Thursday Gathering
🙌 Join our ambassador team
Neurotechnology often gets discussed in terms of devices and interfaces, but what capabilities do we need first to understand the brain well enough to intervene? Michael Dunn (Partner, Convergent Research) and Mehmet Fisek (CEO, Meridial) explore the scientific bottleneck beneath the headlines: why mapping and tracking synaptic connections in the living brain over time is both enormously valuable and enormously difficult. They'll discuss what Meridial is building, why this kind of ambitious, multidisciplinary work needs a different organisational model, the Focused Research Organization, and what becomes possible if it succeeds.
Join us for a fireside chat between Chloe Whitehouse, Science & Technology Lead for the Precision Neurotechnologies programme at ARIA and Ahmed Akhbar, Programme Lead at Cambridge NeuroWorks.
Hear from inspiring innovators working across neurotech and neuroscience.
Join us for an evening exploring the frontiers of brain science and technology, in partnership with Convergent Research. Get a closer look at ARIA’s Precision Neurotechnologies Programme, discover how new models might help solve Neurotech’s hardest problems, and connect with the people driving the field forward!
Meaningful ideas and changes are sparked when serendipitous connection collides with intention. The Thursday Gathering is our free, weekly meet-up that connects people from across Edinburgh’s innovation community to make things happen. Every Thursday, we bring together innovators of all backgrounds, from founders and investors to students and researchers, to discuss big ideas and connect human to human.
Community Partner:
Powered by Advanced Research + Invention Agency
If you require accessibility assistance or special accommodations, please contact us at hello@venturecafeedinburgh.org ahead of the event.
Grab a drink, and join the conversation! Whether you're looking to meet potential collaborators, exchange ideas, grow your network, or simply continue the conversation, this is a great opportunity to connect with fellow innovators, entrepreneurs, and members of the community. You never know where a conversation might lead!
Find out more about the exciting startups in our ecosystem at our Innovator Showcase - the perfect chance to meet the people behind the ideas.
- Convergent Research – Convergent Research identifies and develops Focused Research Organisations (FRO) within our opportunity spaces. Working with our Programme Directors and the UK research ecosystem, Convertent runs the FRO Founder Residency to refine concepts and has launched two UK FROs, creating a new route for scientists to pursue ambitious, large-scale research projects.
- NeuroStripe – NeuroStripe’s innovative chipsets enable simultaneous neural recording, stimulation, and real-time on-chip neural signal decoding. By delivering instant insight into how the brain responds to stimulation, our chipsets enable precise, closed-loop bioelectronic therapies delivered at the exact right millisecond.
- Aelo – Aelo is building the cognitive data layer for wearable technology. Think Whoop, Garmin and Oura, but for the brain. Its sensor ‘pod’ uses fNIRS, the same class of measurement as an fMRI scanner, made small enough to wear in a cap, headband or hard hat. It reads blood flow and oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex and turns it into metrics people can act on, including CoreScore, how ready your brain is before a session, and FormScore, how it performed across it. Aelo is starting in sport, with golf, running and endurance, and racket sports, for elite and serious amateur athletes and their coaches.
- NEUROBITE – NEUROBITE Technologies is an innovative spin-out from the University of Glasgow, focused on developing biodegradable, implantable medical devices designed to treat neurological conditions, such as stroke and epilepsy. We are working on cutting-edge technology aimed at stimulating brain regions affected by these conditions, promoting neuroplasticity, and enhancing recovery. Our approach is designed to reduce the need for multiple surgeries, minimise invasive procedures, and offer a more patient-centered solution for post-stroke rehabilitation and epilepsy monitoring.
- Cambridge NeuroWorks – Cambridge NeuroWorks, supported by Cambridge University Health Partners, is bringing together a UK-wide community of research, clinical and translational organisations to drive breakthroughs and patient impact in our Scalable Neural Interfaces opportunity space. Its two fellowship programmes enable the exploration of speculative neurotechnology ideas and their subsequent translation to patients.
Explore an interactive visual experience where signals from the brain and body influence digital art. Discover how these signals can shape colour, motion, patterns and evolving landscapes, bringing together neurotechnology, creative expression and playful experimentation. Watch the artwork develop and learn how the signals influence what appears on screen. No artistic or technical experience is needed.
What if you could see and step inside your creative state of mind? Experience Zeitgeist, an immersive AI-mediated neurofeedback system training Flow mental states —the state of deep engagement, creativity and brain health. Discover its interactive web and virtual reality experiences, where neuroscience meets audiovisual art to make invisible mental processes tangible. Co-created by Dr Shama Rahman and Dr Oliver Gingrich, Zeitgeist draws on AI research developed through NeuroCreate, Shama’s creative neurotechnology company. A 2026 Lumen Prize finalist, Zeitgeist invites you to explore new possibilities for human creativity, connection and immersive technology.
With Halloween right around the corner, there's no better time for a spooky session!
In this hands-on drop-in, you’ll sketch the creature you become once the clocks go back — zombie, ghost, werewolf, something stranger — and turn it into your own Halloween mug design.
More than a craft activity, it’s a chance to switch off, keep your hands busy, and have an honest laugh with the people beside you. No experience needed. Just bring your spooky ideas!
Join Jake Barrett-Mills, Ailsa’s Head of Service Delivery, for a practical 30-minute workshop on where grants fit in a wider funding plan, how to judge whether an opportunity is worth pursuing, and how to avoid becoming dependent on grant funding. We can use examples and leave time for questions.
Take a seat and hear from Venture Café Edinburgh Director, Claudia Cavalluzzo who will go through how to make the most of a Thursday Gathering, and Corey Ruzicano from Convergent Research who give you a quick preview of what's in line for this week's event.
Venture Café is a global movement built on a simple but powerful belief: isolation is the enemy of innovation.
At our weekly Thursday Gatherings, we connect creators, entrepreneurs, investors, coworkers, students and visionaries to build strong, inclusive and equitable innovation ecosystem. As ecosystem activators, Venture Café Edinburgh is creating a central hub for the city's innovation ecosystem, driving visibility, collaboration and community.
And if you’d like to get more involved with Venture Café, there are plenty of ways to join our network:
🤝 Become a partner
🎤 Speak at an upcoming Thursday Gathering
🙌 Join our ambassador team
Neurotechnology often gets discussed in terms of devices and interfaces, but what capabilities do we need first to understand the brain well enough to intervene? Michael Dunn (Partner, Convergent Research) and Mehmet Fisek (CEO, Meridial) explore the scientific bottleneck beneath the headlines: why mapping and tracking synaptic connections in the living brain over time is both enormously valuable and enormously difficult. They'll discuss what Meridial is building, why this kind of ambitious, multidisciplinary work needs a different organisational model, the Focused Research Organization, and what becomes possible if it succeeds.
Join us for a fireside chat between Chloe Whitehouse, Science & Technology Lead for the Precision Neurotechnologies programme at ARIA and Ahmed Akhbar, Programme Lead at Cambridge NeuroWorks.
Hear from inspiring innovators working across neurotech and neuroscience.