Brain-focused: human-centered

Timeline

November 2013

FDA approves Neuropace RNS system, the world’s first responsive deep brain stimulation device

October 2018

Rune Labs is founded in San Francisco

JUNE 2020

Medtronic announces Percept DBS, the first DBS device for Parkinson’s to directly record brain signals

October 2020

Rune Labs closes $5M Seed Financing round lead by DigiTx Partners

SEPTEMBER 2021

Rune Labs closes $22.8M Series A round led by Eclipse Ventures

November 2021

Rune Labs and Medtronic partner to evaluate use of Medtronic BrainSense Data in Rune’s Software for Precision Neurology

June 2022

Rune Labs Secures FDA Clearance for Parkinson's Disease Monitoring through StrivePD Ecosystem on Apple Watch

Our Values

It’s a simple motto: know thyself. At Rune Labs, we never forget the fact that we are our brains, and that along our journey we have been, and still are, subconsciously absorbing the cultural and behavioral patterns around us. Talent or privilege are never a justification for cruelty and exclusion.

Taking a moment to talk about our habits, biases, and previous experiences before making decisions keeps us on our toes. Whether it’s recruiting, engineering, data science, or business development, we strive to balance our gut instincts with objective markers and input from others. We realize that there’s no perfect science to growing a team or a business, but we trust every single person at Rune to point out our lapses and mistakes and humbly admit their own.

  • Eliminating gendered pronouns when referring to groups or speaking generically
  • Taking the time to learn and respect how our peers work, solve problems, and self-identify differently than us
  • Establishing a consistent and objective job interview process, where all candidate feedback can be corroborated
  • Zero tolerance for hate speech or discrimination in any of its forms
  • Insisting that final decisions are backed up by objective markers and data, not gut feelings or social capital

Rune Labs is tackling completely new kinds of challenges in a strange and exciting new space of science and technology. We founded Rune Labs upon the core belief that the best solution arises from integrating every possible viewpoint, every experience, every background, and every person. For us, a welcoming, safe, diverse, and inclusive environment is not just a responsibility, it’s a necessity.

We believe no question should ever be turned away, nobody should have to wonder about their progress, and no company decision should be made behind closed doors. Trust is the only thing that scales Rune Labs, and we extend that same trust and communication to the communities, clinicians, neuroscientists, and business partners that we work with.

  • Making all documentation and information available to every employee
  • Encouraging communication on public channels over closed-door discussion
  • Investing the time and resources necessary to ensure no group is excluded or underrepresented from our hiring pipeline
  • Always providing honest but kind performance feedback and opportunities for career growth for every employee
  • Allocating time each week to learning, teaching, and unblocking others

Many of us here at Rune Labs have been affected directly or indirectly by neurological complications. We realize that, over our lifetime, anyone is at risk. While it is our single-minded mission to bring new treatments and therapies to our communities and loved ones, we don’t believe any end can justify the means.

At Rune, empathy for the patients we engage with fuels not only our drive and passion, but our deep-felt respect of their privacy, dignity, rights, and humanity. We realize we live in a world where data is used just as often for profit as it is for good. There are always opportunities, advantages, shortcuts, and angles. At the end of the day, we always remind ourselves that if we don’t draw a line in the sand, nobody will do it for us.

  • Always being honest and upfront with users about how we use, share, and protect their data
  • Purposefully designing legal agreements as to remove both possibility and incentive for misuse of patient data, now or at any point in the future
  • Discussing and evaluating patient risk in every phase of our engineering process, regardless of whether regulation obligates us or not
  • Not taking shortcuts when it comes to security and safety of health data
  • Insisting on user experience that is mindful of the patient’s personal time and factors associated with their diagnosis

We recognize that every organization has a choice of being practical or being idealistic. At Rune Labs, our identity is firmly grounded on the process of learning how to balance between them: aiming for the stars but always having a plan to get there.

We believe strongly in work-life balance, having fun along the way, and maintaining a workplace that people are excited to return to every morning. We also want to deliver the best product and experience to our patients, researchers, and partners when they need us most. Our process, structure, and priorities guide us to be responsible to both ourselves and those that depend on our efforts. We keep the communication lines open and proactively adjust our methods to make sure push never has to come to shove in the first place.

  • We ensure end results by distributing workload, readjusting task priorities, and always delivering in small iterations
  • We invest heavily in automation and instrumentation. It’s an environment where it’s safe to try new things and make mistakes
  • Measure thrice and code once. Our architectural discussions always precede implementation so there’s no surprises in the 11th hour
  • Regular product meetings, stand-ups, and group retrospectives to decide what works and what doesn’t

team

Leadership team

Rune Labs is a team of curious, driven individuals with diverse backgrounds and skills, but we’re all passionate about using brain data to improve patients' lives.

Adin Stein
Head of Cloud Infrastructure and Cybersecurity
Aiden Arnold
Senior Data Scientist
Brian Pepin
CEO
Chase Babcock
Director of Operations, StrivePD
Dave Samuelson
Director of Business Development
Janice Tam
VP of Legal and Corporate Secretary
Priya Kumar
Head of Communications
Ram Balasubramanian
VP Engineering
Ro'ee Gilron
Lead Neuroscientist
Swati Reichmuth
Chief Operating Officer
William Newby
VP of Product
Witney Chen
Lead Neuroscientist

our Board of Directors

Brian Pepin

CEO and Founder at Rune Labs

Justin Butler

Partner at Eclipse Ventures

David J. Kim, M.D.

Managing Director at DigiTx Partners

Florian Haupt

Partner at TruVenturo GmbH

backed by

Partner with us

Our team of engineers and scientists is looking forward to meeting you.

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