Meredith Perry
Meredith Perry | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 5, 1989 |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupations | CEO, Elemind Technologies, Inc. |
| Known for | Founding uBeam; co-founding Elemind |
Meredith Perry (born August 5, 1989)[1] is an American entrepreneur. She founded uBeam, a startup that sought to charge electronic devices wirelessly using ultrasound; the company attracted prominent investors and extensive media coverage, but engineers, outside experts, and former employees questioned whether its technology could be made practical.[2][3][4] She is the co-founder and CEO of Elemind, a company developing wearable neurotechnology.[5]
Career
[edit]Education and research
[edit]Perry studied paleobiology and astrobiology at the University of Pennsylvania and conducted research with the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Astrobiology Institute. She co-authored astrobiology research with Christopher McKay.[6]
uBeam
[edit]In 2011, Perry won the University of Pennsylvania's "PennVention" competition with a proposed ultrasonic wireless charging system, which she named "uBeam".[7] She founded uBeam later that year; early investors included Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Mark Cuban, and Marissa Mayer.[8] Experts and former uBeam engineers raised doubts about the company's approach, arguing that ultrasound-based charging faced fundamental problems of efficiency and safety and was unlikely to be practical at commercial scale.[3][4]
Perry argued in a TEDx talk that engineers tend to be linear thinkers and said she had approached the problem differently by consulting public sources and asking basic questions.[9] Perry stepped down as CEO in 2018; coverage at the time reported that the company was shifting toward business-to-business licensing and partnerships.[10][11]
Elemind
[edit]In October 2019, Perry said on Twitter that she had been working on a new neurotechnology.[12] She co-founded Elemind Technologies in 2020.[5][13] The company emerged from stealth mode on February 6, 2024, when Perry said its wearable device could suppress tremor in people with essential tremor and help induce sleep, and that it was being explored for memory and pain applications.[14][15]
Elemind's first commercial product is a neurotechnology headband. The company has pointed to a 2024 randomized controlled trial of alpha phase-locked auditory stimulation for sleep-onset insomnia, published in Scientific Reports by authors including Elemind researchers,[16] and has stated that the device helped 76% of participants with insomnia fall asleep 48% faster on average.[17]
Recognition and reception
[edit]Perry and uBeam received extensive media attention in the early 2010s, with Perry frequently profiled as a young technology entrepreneur.[2] Later reporting focused on doubts from engineers, outside experts, and former employees about whether the company's ultrasound-based charging could work as promised.[3][4]
She was named to Fortune's "40 Under 40" Mobilizers list,[18] Forbes' "30 Under 30" in energy,[19] and Vanity Fair's 2015 "New Establishment" list.[20] In 2014 she was named one of Fast Company's "Most Creative People",[21] and in 2012 she received Elle magazine's Genius Award.[22]
References
[edit]- ↑ Perry, Meredith. "Meredith Perry (@meredithperry) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 28 September 2026.
- 1 2 "She's an inventor. She's 25. And she wants to make true wireless charging a reality". Fortune.
- 1 2 3 "Experts Still Think uBeam's Through-the-Air Charging Tech is Unlikely". IEEE Spectrum.
- 1 2 3 Carson, Biz (2016-05-12). "The hype around wireless-charging startup uBeam got way ahead of reality, say former engineers". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
- 1 2 "Elemind Technologies, Inc". linkedin.com. February 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
- ↑ Tanaka, Zuki; Perry, Meredith; Cooper, George; Tang, Suning; McKay, Christopher P.; Chen, Bin (August 1, 2012). "Near-Infrared (NIR) Raman Spectroscopy of Precambrian Carbonate Stromatolites with Post-Depositional Organic Inclusions". Applied Spectroscopy. 66 (8): 911–916. Bibcode:2012ApSpe..66..911T. doi:10.1366/11-06523. PMID 22800768. S2CID 478919.
- ↑ "Team with wireless charger". www.bizjournals.com. 2011. Retrieved 2020-07-24.
- ↑ "Investors Power Wireless-Electricity Start-Up UBeam With $750K - WSJ". July 12, 2012 – via www.wsj.com.
- ↑ How to be a technology innovator: Meredith Perry at TEDxNashville on YouTube
- ↑ Constine, Josh (2018-09-20). "uBeam wireless power's CEO Meredith Perry steps aside amidst B2B pivot". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
- ↑ Primack, Dan (2018-09-20). "Exclusive: Ubeam CEO Meredith Perry steps down". Axios. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
- ↑ Perry, Meredith [@meredithperry] (2019-10-20). "Hi. I've been quietly working on a very cool new neurotechnology that's proving to be quite impactful. We'll announce soon who we are & what it is. For now I'm just excited, & wanted to let you know I'm still alive & kicking, even though I've been stealthy AF since 2018 🚀" (Tweet). Retrieved 2020-07-24 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "TEAM". Elemind.
- ↑ "This Cambridge startup, bootstrapped by billionaires, is developing 'neuro-tech' wearables". The Boston Globe. 2024-02-06. Retrieved 2025-01-12.
- ↑ Takahashi, Dean (February 6, 2024). "Elemind raises $12M for neurotech wearable that can help your brain and let you sleep better". VentureBeat.
- ↑ Bressler, Scott; Neely, Ryan; Yost, Ryan M.; Wang, David (June 6, 2024). "A randomized controlled trial of alpha phase-locked auditory stimulation to treat symptoms of sleep onset insomnia". Scientific Reports. 14 (1): 13039. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-63385-1 – via nature.com.
- ↑ Koetsier, John (February 7, 2024). "'Electric Medicine:' AI Startup Reads Brainwaves To Fix Sleep, Pain". Forbes.
- ↑ "More under 40s: Mobilizers". Fortune.
- ↑ Helman, Christopher. "Forbes 30 Under 30 In The Energy Sector". Forbes.
- ↑ Bilton, Nick (8 September 2015). "The New Establishment 2015". Vanity Fair.
- ↑ "Meet Meredith Perry, one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People 2014". Fast Company.
- ↑ Plattner, Seth; Davis, Allison P.; Straut, Catherine; Moody, Elyse; Kapp, Diana; Harman, Justine (June 29, 2012). "Genius Awards 2012". ELLE.