Chennai Deeptech Startup Neurostellar Measures Cognitive Endurance of Chess Players Using Smart Headband

A recent hybrid chess tournament held at the IIT Madras Research Park, titled 'Battle of Brains', featured a unique twist alongside traditional gameplay. While 24 skilled players competed, a device called Orbit rested on their heads to track changes in their brain and heart activity.

In a separate room, spectators viewed a dashboard ranking the players not by their chess scores, but by their 'cognitive endurance'. Orbit is the flagship product of Chennai-based deeptech startup Neurostellar, co-founded in 2019 by SASTRA biotech graduates Karthik Raghavendran and Dhanushya Sree.

The smart headband is built with minute Electroencephalography (EEG) and Photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors that measure brain waves alongside heart rate and breathing patterns. According to the company, the device provides real-time insights into stress, focus, and mental fatigue without making any medical diagnoses.

"In the chess context, what we are essentially trying to calculate is the 'cognitive endurance'. It is essentially a measure of how long a player can sustain focus," said Karthik Raghavendran, Co-founder and CEO of Neurostellar.

The data collected by the sensors feed into proprietary algorithms designed in collaboration with scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), generating an endurance score within seconds. The startup is backed by Ather co-founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain.

Despite its niche utility, Orbit has attracted high-profile users, including World Chess Champion Gukesh Dommaraju and Chess Grand Master Vishnu Prasanna, who is part of the Neurostellar team in an advisory role and uses the device in his coaching process.

Neurostellar operates within India's evolving wearable technology sector, which includes companies like Ultrahuman, Temple, and NeoSapien developing advanced health-tracking devices. Orbit is currently priced at $250 and is in the pre-order phase, with batches being shipped to customers that include top athletes, CEOs, and biohackers, according to Raghavendran.

In addition to tracking endurance scores, the product offering includes an app featuring sections for guided meditation, problem solving, and deep work, alongside a coaching program aimed at improving cognitive scores.

"The expansion of India's wearable technology market beyond basic fitness trackers into specialized, data-driven cognitive monitoring is a notable trend. Startups like Neurostellar demonstrate how deeptech innovations can find practical applications in niche fields such as professional sports and cognitive endurance training. As consumer demand grows for advanced health-tracking devices, the ability to partner with research institutions like NIMHANS for algorithmic validation strengthens credibility in this emerging segment." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes