Samphire, Flow Neuroscience & XTool Named TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026

This year, three SOSV portfolio companies were ranked among TIME Magazine's Best Inventions of 2026. Check them out:

Samphire Headband

Medication-free PMS management

Women experiencing PMS or PMDD symptoms have two primary choices: medication or hormones. Samphire provides a third. Its brain-stimulation headband offers transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)-the 30-year-old clinical technique of using low-level electrical stimulation on the brain regions involved in emotional regulation to treat mood disorders like depression-at home, no prescription or appointment needed. "For us, the [effectiveness] was just as non-negotiable as the user experience," says Emilė Radytė, neuroscientist and Samphire founder, who designed the headband with a single tactile button and a helpful companion app. "We needed it to fit into real women's lives." Learn more about the Samphire Headband on Samphire Neuro.

XTool Apparel Printer Plus

A full-service fabric printer

This second generation AI-powered system fully automates the entire fabric printing process, including powdering and baking. Buy the XTool Apparel Printer Plus on Amazon.

Flow Neuroscience FL-100

A medication-free option for depression

Treating depression often involves trial and error-and for many people, antidepressants can cause intolerable side effects. Flow Neuroscience's FL-100 headset offers a different approach to treating moderate to severe depression: a prescription wireless headset that delivers a gentle electrical current to brain regions involved in mood regulation. In a pivotal clinical trial, people using the headset were about twice as likely to achieve remission from major depressive disorder after 10 weeks compared to those using a sham version. The method, called transcranial direct-current stimulation, has been available in clinical settings, but in December, the headset became the first FDA-approved at-home brain stimulation treatment for depression. Learn more about the headband at Flow Neuroscience.