Inside Sonera Magnetics: Why Apple bought a Bangladeshi-led startup for its next tech leap

Earlier this year, Apple acquired California-based Sonera Magnetics, a startup co-founded by Bangladeshi engineer and University of California, Berkeley professor Sayeef Salahuddin that developed compact sensors designed to detect magnetic signals generated by the brain, nerves and muscles.

Apple completed the acquisition in May 2026, according to European Union acquisition records, reports ExitStack. Neither Apple nor Sonera publicly announced the deal.

A European Commission disclosure said Apple, through a subsidiary, would acquire certain assets from Sonera and offer employment to some of its employees. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition gives Apple access to a technology designed to detect biological signals in a way that could eventually make some forms of neural and neuromuscular sensing possible in smaller, portable devices.

A Bangladesh connection

Salahuddin is one of Sonera's three founders, alongside Dominic Labanowski and Nishita Deka.

He completed his BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2003 before moving to the United States for graduate research.

He earned a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University in 2007 and joined Berkeley's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences in 2008.

He is now the TSMC Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at Berkeley and a senior materials scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

His research has covered electronic devices, materials, semiconductor technologies and energy-efficient computing. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, American Physical Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Sonera emerged from this research environment. Labanowski and Deka met while studying for PhDs in electrical engineering at Berkeley and later worked with Salahuddin to develop research in magnetics and semiconductor devices into commercial technology.

How Sonera's technology works

Sonera's technology is based on a basic property of human physiology: electrical activity in the body produces magnetic fields.

When neurons fire or muscles contract, electrical currents are generated. Those currents also produce magnetic signals that can be detected outside the body.

Conventional technologies such as electroencephalography, or EEG, and electromyography, or EMG, measure electrical activity directly. Sonera instead focused on detecting the associated magnetic fields.

The challenge is that these signals are extremely weak.

Systems used for biomagnetic measurements can require large, specialised equipment and controlled environments. Magnetoencephalography, or MEG, for example, uses highly sensitive magnetic sensors along with shielding and cooling systems to detect magnetic signals from the brain.

Sonera developed magnetometers designed to operate at room temperature and in smaller form factors. Its approach uses acoustically driven ferromagnetic resonance to detect weak magnetic fields.

The aim was to develop sensors that could eventually be incorporated into portable devices rather than being limited to specialised facilities.

The S1 chip

Sonera's first publicly disclosed product was the S1 chip, designed to detect magnetic signals generated by muscles.

The company said the chip could measure muscle activity without requiring electrodes to make direct contact with the skin. It identified potential applications including prosthetic control, neuromuscular monitoring, disease biomarker discovery and sports performance tracking.

Sonera also explored consumer applications, including gesture recognition, facial muscle sensing and sub-vocal speech detection. These could potentially be used in devices such as smartwatches, smart glasses and earbuds.

The same underlying approach can also be applied to signals from the nervous system. Sonera worked on sensors for neurological imaging, including research aimed at reducing the size, cost and power requirements of systems used to detect magnetic signals from the brain.

The company emerged from stealth in 2023 with an $11 million seed funding round led by Amplify Partners, saying the funding brought its total capital raised to $20 million.

At the time, Sonera said its technology had potential applications in healthcare, personal computing, smart apparel and neurotherapeutics.

Why Apple wants Sonera

The acquisition comes as Apple expands the health capabilities of its wearable devices.

At its September 2026 product event, Apple introduced the Apple Watch Series 12 with a new Health Sensing System, more frequent heart-rate and heart-rate variability measurements, and a redesigned Health app.

Sonera's technology operates at a different level from the conventional sensors currently used in consumer wearables. Its sensors are designed to capture magnetic signals generated by muscles, nerves and the brain.

That could provide Apple with another source of physiological data as it develops future health and wearable products.

The technology could potentially have applications in areas ranging from muscle monitoring to controlling devices through gestures or other neural and muscular signals. However, there is no public indication that Apple has decided how it will use Sonera's technology.

The European acquisition disclosure only confirms the transfer of certain Sonera assets and employment offers to some of its staff. Apple has not announced any product or feature based on the company's technology.

From Berkeley research to Apple

Sonera spent years developing its technology from university research into a commercial product. Its founders filed patents around the sensing technology, secured research funding, raised venture capital and developed the S1 chip for muscle sensing.

Salahuddin's role spans both sides of that process. Berkeley identifies him as a founder of Sonera, while patent records list him as an inventor on technology developed by the company.

The acquisition now places that research within Apple, although its next stage remains unclear.

For now, the deal gives Apple access to a sensing technology designed to detect magnetic signals from muscles, nerves and the brain, while adding a Bangladesh connection through one of the startup's founders.