Our Vision
A world where artificial intelligence enhances, not replaces, human capability.
Convergence
We are at a unique moment in history.
The rise of large language models, the emergence of extended reality, and the public's awareness of brain-computer interfaces has created an unprecedented opportunity. We now have a clear map to market, built on a growing body of evidence that subscalp interfaces are safe, reliable, and capable of decoding intended speech. Fluent represents the convergence of all these elements, with the cutting-edge technology, an elite team, at the perfect time.
Global impact from Australia’s neurotech capital.
Our location in Melbourne is a core competitive advantage. Based at the ACMD and co-located at St. Vincent's Hospital, we have seamless integration with clinical and neurosurgical teams. This ecosystem allows us to move fast in a highly cost-effective manner, using local data to meet FDA requirements and scale into our beachhead US market.
Fluent is built on a foundation of over $10 million in research from our partners at the University of Melbourne. This world-class lab has a proven track record, having spun out neurotech leaders like Synchron and Epiminder.
Our Trajectory
The Foundation
Prof. David Grayden and Dr. Dean Freestone led the engineering team for a project headed by Prof. Mark Cook, winning a prestigious NHMRC Development Grant to commercialize subscalp EEG. The project is recognized as one of the "10 of the Best" in Australia (see Key Research below).
The Spin-Outs
The ecosystem matures. Seer Medical and Epiminder are spun out of the lab, establishing a commercial pathway for neurotechnology in Melbourne and proving the team's ability to translate research into viable companies.
Clinical Translation
A/Prof. Andrew Morokoff implants the first subscalp EEG systems in patients in Melbourne. In the same year, he implants the first patient for Synchron, cementing the team's leadership in real-world BCI surgery.
Validation
A series of landmark papers co-authored by Fluent founders demonstrate that subscalp EEG is safe, reliable, and effective for long-term monitoring in humans. Crucially, Dr. Tim Mahoney’s PhD results prove that high-fidelity sensorimotor signals required for speech decoding are observable via subscalp EEG (see Key Research below).
Epiminder FDA Authorization
Subscalp EEG receives FDA Authorization. While separate from Fluent, this authorization is pivotal: it establishes a clear regulatory predicate for subscalp EEG, demonstrates the acceptance of Australian clinical data by the FDA, and validates the regulatory expertise of our founding team members who played significant roles in the study.
Fluent Founded
Fluent is founded to commercialize the speech decoding application. We launch with over $10M in prior R&D leverage and a clear, de-risked path to market.
First-in-Human
Targeted commencement of clinical studies in Melbourne to demonstrate real-time speech decoding in patients.
FDA Clearance
Market entry for the treatment of anarthria and dysarthria, restoring connection for those locked-in by paralysis.
Expansion
First implantation in a healthy individual. Fluent takes the a major step from a purely clinical device, towards a new interface for human-AI interaction.
Key Research
Our technology is built on peer-reviewed evidence.
Sub-scalp EEG for sensorimotor brain-computer interface
Mahoney et al., Journal of Neural Engineering, 2025
Real-world monitoring with ultra-long-term subcutaneous EEG
Viana, Freestone et al., Epilepsia, 2025
Seizure Forecasting Using a Novel Sub-Scalp Ultra-Long Term EEG
Stirling, Maturana, Freestone et al., Frontiers in Neurology, 2021
10 of the Best Research Projects 2014
National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
Our Founders
Dr. Tim Mahoney
CEO
Tim provided the initial spark. His PhD research was the first to demonstrate that subscalp EEG contains the rich data required to decode intended speech.
"This isn't just about building the best interface, but to fundamentally rethink how technology can advance humanity."
Stephen Ruffels
COO
Stephen is a proven medtech executive, having been responsible for taking 14 products through FDA clearance or approval. At ResMed, he led the shift to intelligent, data-driven devices. As COO and 'employee zero' at Harrison.ai, and later CEO of the spin-out Franklin.ai, he scaled complex healthcare AI tools globally.
Dr. Dean Freestone
CTO
Dean is a world-renowned neuroengineer. As co-founder of Seer, he built and scaled EEG diagnostic devices, AI, and services across Australia, the US, and Europe. His deep, hands-on experience leading AI development for the Epiminder device gives him an unparalleled understanding of EEG data.
Dr. Farhad Goodarzy
CPO
Dr. Farhad Goodarzy provides critical hardware and manufacturing expertise. His PhD in integrated circuit design, experience at neurotech manufacturer Neobionica, and post-doc in speech decoding BCIs give him a rare end-to-end understanding of the field.
Advisory Board
Prof. Eduard Hovy
AI & NLP Advisor
A world-renowned AI and NLP expert, Prof. Hovy is the Executive Director of Melbourne Connect. His career includes a PhD from Yale and serving as a Program Manager at DARPA. As a Fellow of the AAAI and ACL, his expertise is foundational to our AI-driven approach.
Prof. David Grayden
Neural Engineering Advisor
As the Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering at the University of Melbourne, Prof. Grayden is a leading BCI expert. He directs the ARC Training Centre for Cognitive Computing and is an FTSE Fellow. His research focuses on decoding brain signals for bionic devices, validating our core technology.
A/Prof. Sam John
BCI Translation Advisor
A/Prof John has direct experience in BCI commercial translation. He was part of the original Stentrode (Synchron) team, winning a Eureka Prize, and served as Lead Software Developer at Synchron. He now heads the NeuroBionics Lab, specializing in implantable neural prostheses.
A/Prof. Andrew Morokoff
Neurosurgery Advisor
A/Prof Morokoff is an academic neurosurgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital with training from Harvard University. He is a clinical expert in BCI devices and subscalp monitoring. His leadership will be pivotal as he is slated to perform Fluent’s first-in-human procedures, planned for 2026.