Is the Brain Economy an investment category?

Yes — but it is broader than any single ETF or fund. It spans publicly traded medical device makers, AI infrastructure firms, neurotech start-ups, and a large non-market component (publicly funded brain research and brain-health interventions).

How big is the Brain Economy?

Estimates depend on scope. The narrower 'brain-health and neurotech' segment is commonly sized in the hundreds of billions of USD annually as of the mid-2020s; broader 'brain capital' framings (including the productivity of cognitive labour) reach into the multiple trillions.

Who coined the term 'Brain Capital'?

The term was popularised by Harris A. Eyre and colleagues through the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, the OECD, and the Davos Brain Economy Alliance, building on earlier work in mental health economics.

How confident are these forecasts?

Decreasing sharply with horizon. Treat 2026–2030 as 'evidence-based outlook', 2030–2040 as 'informed extrapolation', and 2040–2050 as 'structured speculation.'

What could change the trajectory?

Major regulatory action on brain data, a NeuroAI breakthrough that reorders the AI cost curve, or a public-health event that reframes brain health as a top-tier policy priority.

Brain Economy timeline 2026–2050

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