20: Thomas Reardon—Building an API for the Brain

Thomas Reardon is the cofounder and CEO of CTRL-labs, a company building an electromyography-based armband that decodes the brain's intentions, enabling users to control digital devices using their mind.  In this fun and wide-ranging conversation we get into Reardon's early years at Microsoft, and how building a web startup in the 1990s and launching Internet Explorer has informed his thinking. He describes how he had a realization about changing his career path and decided later in life to study classics and computational neuroscience. Reardon explains why New York is the top place to build a machine learning based business right now and reveals how he recruits top talent. He shares how the company aims to translate cutting edge technology into mass-market use, and what developers can expect when CTRL-kit is shipped in Q1. He also explains how the CTRL-labs platform could radically impact immersive computing (VR/AR) and how if all goes to plan it will make the smartphone redundant.  https://www.ctrl-labs.com/ A full transcript is available on Medium This episode was produced by Adriene Lilly.