LIFTiD Shark Tank Update: is it still in business?

If you have ever wished you could boost your brain power without drinking three cups of coffee, you might remember LIFTiD from Season 12 of Shark Tank.

Pitched as a futuristic, high-tech headband, LIFTiD promised to increase focus, memory, and productivity using mild electrical currents.

During their 2020 appearance, founders Ken and Allyson Davidov brought incredible energy to the stage. However, they walked away without a deal after the Sharks expressed doubts about the health claims and safety of the device.

Usually, leaving the Shark Tank empty-handed is a setback. But for LIFTiD, it was just the beginning. The company went on to reach an incredible estimated valuation of $35 million. Yet, if you try to buy a LIFTiD device in 2026, you will find that it is completely out of stock.

So, what exactly happened? Is LIFTiD still in business, or did the company quietly shut down? From the FDA’s recent changes to the founders’ new career paths, here is the complete, highly detailed 2026 update on LIFTiD.

Quick Facts: LIFTiD on Shark Tank

Detail	Information
Entrepreneurs	Ken Davidov and Allyson Davidov
Product	A wearable headband that uses mild electricity to improve focus.
Original Ask	$200,000 for 10% equity (Valuing the company at $2 million).
Final Deal	No Deal.
Shark Tank Episode	Season 12, Episode 5 (Aired November 13, 2020).
2026 Business Status	Active, but currently “Out of Stock” for a product redesign.
Estimated Net Worth	$35 million valuation.

What Exactly is LIFTiD?

LIFTiD is a piece of wearable technology designed to improve how your brain performs. To put it simply, it is a lightweight plastic headband that you wear across your forehead for 20 minutes a day.

Instead of relying on energy drinks, caffeine, or sugar, LIFTiD uses a science called transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS for short. The device features two small pads (electrodes) that rest against your skin.

When you turn it on, it sends a very mild, safe electrical current (about 1.2 milliamperes) through your forehead and into a specific part of your brain called the prefrontal cortex.

The prefrontal cortex is the control center of the brain. It is responsible for your attention span, your ability to focus, and your working memory.

The gentle electricity from the LIFTiD device does not “shock” your brain or force your brain cells to fire. Instead, it gently wakes them up, increasing blood flow and making it easier for your neurons to communicate with one another.

The Shift Away from Chemical Stimulants

To understand why a product like LIFTiD is so popular, you have to look at the massive demand for brain boosters. For years, students, gamers, and office workers have relied on chemical supplements to stay sharp.

By 2025, the global brain health supplement market reached a massive $12.6 billion, driven by people buying vitamins and herbal pills to clear away “brain fog”.

However, chemical stimulants often come with bad side effects, like afternoon energy crashes, anxiety, or addiction. LIFTiD was created to be a completely chemical-free alternative. It offered a way to train the brain naturally, giving users a clean boost of productivity without the crash.

Who Created LIFTiD?

LIFTiD was developed by a company called RPW Technology, LLC, which is run by husband-and-wife team Ken and Allyson Davidov.

Ken is a lifelong entrepreneur who loves bringing new consumer products to life, while Allyson helped run the marketing side of the business.

The actual physical design of the comfortable, 70-gram headset was created by an inventor named Balder Haraldsson Onarheim, who holds several patents for the device.

But Ken and Allyson knew they needed a medical expert to prove their device was safe. That is why they partnered with Dr. Theodore H. Schwartz.

Dr. Schwartz is not just a regular doctor. He earned his degrees from Harvard University and is a highly respected neurosurgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. He specializes in complex brain surgeries and has spent his life studying how the human brain works.

Dr. Schwartz acted as the main science advisor for LIFTiD. He helped assure the public that tDCS was safe for healthy adults to use, pointing to over 4,000 scientific studies that supported the technology.

In 2024, Dr. Schwartz became even more famous in the medical world when he published a highly praised book called Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery. The book explores the history of brain science and how fragile, yet adaptable, the human mind truly is.

Having a leading expert like Dr. Schwartz on the team gave LIFTiD a massive amount of credibility before they even stepped onto the Shark Tank stage.

The Shark Tank Pitch: Season 12, Episode 5

Ken and Allyson Davidov walked into the Shark Tank on November 13, 2020, asking for a $200,000 investment in exchange for 10% of their company. This meant they believed LIFTiD was worth $2 million at the time.

They started their pitch by explaining the science of tDCS and how their device could help anyone from college students to professional athletes focus better.

To prove that people already loved it, they shared that they had sold 1,240 units, bringing in $126,000 in early sales. They even let four out of the five Sharks try the device right there in the studio.

Despite the fun demonstration, the pitch quickly went downhill.

Ken Davidov was incredibly energetic, perhaps a little too energetic. He spoke so fast and threw so much information at the Sharks that it became overwhelming.

Shark Kevin O’Leary bluntly called the presentation one of the “craziest” pitches he had ever had to sit through.

Robert Herjavec agreed, noting that Ken was talking so much that no one could actually absorb the information he was sharing.

Beyond the fast talking, the Sharks had serious concerns about the product itself. The idea of sending electricity into the brain naturally made the investors nervous.

Mark Cuban, who is known for being very strict about health products, immediately spotted some red flags. He pointed out that the LIFTiD instruction manual included a long list of safety warnings.

He also doubted whether a recreational device could actually deliver the major medical benefits the founders were promising.

Because of the potential legal risks and the chaotic pitch, every single Shark decided to pass. Ken and Allyson walked out of the tank with no deal.

What Happened After Shark Tank? The Huge Sales Bump

Usually, getting rejected on national television is bad news for a business. But Shark Tank is watched by millions of people, and the exposure alone is incredibly valuable. This is known as the “Shark Tank bump,” and LIFTiD benefited from it in a massive way.

Almost immediately after the episode aired, curiosity drove thousands of viewers to the LIFTiD website and their Amazon store page. The idea of a chemical-free focus booster resonated with people who were stuck working from home during the events of 2020.

Within a few months, LIFTiD crossed the million-dollar sales mark. By 2022 and 2023, reports showed that the company was bringing in an estimated $6 million in revenue.

They partnered with big neurotechnology retailers like Caputron to sell the device and extra accessories. Because of this massive surge in sales, the founders were able to push the estimated net worth and valuation of the company to an impressive $35 million. That is a giant leap from the $2 million valuation they had during their TV pitch!

The product also received outside praise, winning the Gadget Flow Best Product Award, which helped prove to new customers that the headband was a real, high-quality piece of technology.

Is LIFTiD Still in Business in 2026?

If you read old articles about LIFTiD, they will tell you the company is actively selling thousands of units. However, in 2026, the story is very different.

Currently, the LIFTiD headband is completely out of stock. If you visit the official LIFTiD website or search for it on Amazon today, you cannot buy a new device.

The only things you can still buy are replacement sponges from their retail partner, Caputron, for people who already own the old headset.

Does this mean the company went out of business? Not exactly. The company is currently in a transition phase. According to an official update on the LIFTiD website, the team is working on a “full redesign and repackaging” of the headset.

They are asking interested customers to sign up for an email list to be notified when the new, improved version of the product is finally released.

There are a few reasons why LIFTiD had to pause sales and go back to the drawing board:

1. Mixed Customer Reviews: While early users loved it, the broader public was not as convinced. On Amazon, the LIFTiD device currently holds a low rating of 2.6 out of 5 stars. Some users felt the electrical tingling was uncomfortable, while others felt it did not boost their focus enough to justify the $159 price tag.
2. Founders Moving On: Building a hardware company is exhausting, and the founders have started putting their energy into other projects. Ken Davidov’s LinkedIn profile shows he is now involved in new startups, including a company called Taste Boosters, which makes special utensils that make your food taste better. Meanwhile, Allyson Davidov has reportedly left the tech world entirely to work in the real estate industry.
3. The Technology Got Old: The original LIFTiD was a very simple device. As we will see below, the world of brain technology has advanced incredibly fast over the last few years. To stay competitive, LIFTiD has no choice but to build a better, smarter version of their product.

How the Brain Device Market Has Changed by 2026

When LIFTiD was on Shark Tank in 2020, at-home brain stimulation was considered a fun, experimental “hack” for healthy people. Because it was sold as a recreational tool, it did not need to be approved by the FDA.

But in 2025, everything changed. A rival company named Flow Neuroscience made history by getting official FDA approval for their own at-home tDCS headset.

Unlike LIFTiD, which was just for fun and focus, the Flow device was officially certified as a medical treatment for depression. This created a brand-new medical category called “at-home electric medicine”.

Because consumers can now buy FDA-approved brain devices over the counter, the standards for products like LIFTiD have skyrocketed. People now expect their brain devices to be backed by serious clinical trials.

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Furthermore, technology has become much smarter. The original LIFTiD just turned on and delivered the same steady electric current to everyone. Today, in 2026, the biggest trend in brain health is Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Modern neuro-devices can connect to smartphone apps and smartwatches. These apps use AI to track your sleep, your stress levels, and your daily movement. The AI then talks to the headband and adjusts the electrical current in real-time to perfectly match what your brain needs at that exact moment.

This personalized treatment means fewer side effects and much better results. Since LIFTiD did not have AI or a smartphone app, a complete product redesign was absolutely necessary to survive in 2026.

LIFTiD vs. 2026 Competitors

To see why LIFTiD needs a redesign, it helps to look at the other products currently on the market. The neurostimulation device market is expected to grow to over $27 billion in the next decade, and the competition is fierce.

Here is how LIFTiD compares to other popular tDCS devices available today:

Device Name	2026 Status & Price	Power (Max Current)	Key Features
LIFTiD	Out of Stock (Redesign)	1.2 mA	Very lightweight (70g); simple one-button design.
Flow Neuroscience	Available / Prescription	2.0 mA	FDA-Approved for depression; app-controlled.
BrainDriver (v2.1)	$149.99	2.0 mA	Highly adjustable power settings; popular budget option.
PlatoWork	$549.00	1.4 mA	Premium headset; controlled by an app with multiple focus modes.
Activadose tDCS	$449.00	Up to 4.0 mA	Professional, clinical-grade power; highly accurate.

As you can see, LIFTiD was the weakest device on the market, offering only 1.2 mA of current compared to the standard 2.0 mA offered by rivals. While this made it very safe and gentle for beginners, it may explain why some Amazon reviewers felt it did not work strongly enough for them.

Final Thoughts: Will LIFTiD Return?

LIFTiD’s journey is a classic Shark Tank success story with a modern twist. Ken and Allyson Davidov took a massive risk by presenting a futuristic brain device on national television.

Even though billionaire investors like Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary turned them down, they proved the Sharks wrong by building a company with an estimated $35 million valuation.

They helped introduce the world to the idea that you do not need coffee or sugary energy drinks to focus. However, technology moves incredibly fast.

With the FDA now approving brain headsets and Artificial Intelligence taking over the market, the original LIFTiD simply became outdated.

While the device is currently out of stock, the company is actively working on a redesign. If RPW Technology LLC can release a second-generation headband that includes smartphone connectivity, adjustable power settings, and the same comfortable fit as the original, there is a very good chance LIFTiD could once again dominate the brain-boosting market. Until then, fans of the brand will have to wait patiently for the next big update.