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Mindstate Design Labs, a startup founded in 2021 and backed by Y Combinator as well as the founders of OpenAI, Neuralink, Instacart, Coinbase, and Twitch, has created a compound designed to produce psychoactive effects without the hallucinatory experience traditionally associated with psychedelics. CEO Dillan DiNardo describes the innovation as “the least psychedelic psychedelic that is psychoactive.”
The startup uses a proprietary AI platform to analyze biochemical data from existing psychoactive drugs alongside more than 70,000 trip reports sourced from clinical trial datasets, online forums, social media, Reddit, and even the dark web. This large-scale analysis helped the team identify key mechanisms in how psychedelics influence the brain, enabling the design of MSD-001, Mindstate’s first compound.
MSD-001 is an oral formulation of 5-MeO-MiPT, also known as moxy. The compound is designed to target the serotonin 2a receptor while minimizing interactions with other neural sites, a step the company says is critical for producing mental effects without hallucinations. Phase I trials conducted at the Centre for Human Drug Research in the Netherlands included 47 participants who received five different doses.
Trial results indicated that MSD-001 is safe, well tolerated, and produces measurable psychoactive effects without inducing hallucinations. Participants reported heightened emotions, enhanced associative thinking, increased imagination, and perceptual effects such as brighter colors. Brain imaging, eye movement monitoring, and validated psychedelic scales confirmed that the compound activated many of the same neural pathways as traditional psychedelics. Psychoactive effects began about 30 minutes after ingestion, peaking between 90 and 120 minutes, with no serious adverse events observed.
Mindstate envisions MSD-001 as a foundational platform for combination therapies. The company aims to pair it with other compounds to achieve precise mental states, including anxiety reduction, improved insight, and heightened aesthetic perception. Potential applications include mood disorders, phobias, and compulsive behaviors. DiNardo emphasized that the approach separates psychoactive effects from hallucinatory experiences, focusing instead on neuroplasticity and therapeutic potential.
The startup is navigating regulatory pathways carefully. FDA approval will require future trials and compliance with evolving psychedelic therapy guidelines. Mindstate’s model differs from existing psychedelic therapies, which often rely on guided talk therapy. Instead, the company aims to create pharmacological tools that deliver measurable mental effects under medical supervision.
This approach aligns with a broader trend of startups in the mental health space seeking safer, more controlled alternatives to classic psychedelics. Backers argue that AI-driven drug design can accelerate discovery while reducing risk, offering patients therapeutic options without the unpredictability of traditional hallucinogenic experiences.
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