The Future of the Brain Economy is Today.
Brains are Infrastructure
Brain capital – the fusion of healthy minds and adaptive skills – is the essential infrastructure of the 21st century. It’s what powers innovation, resilience, and growth. Treating brains as capital means investing in people as deliberately as we do in roads or data centers.
But gaps still exist in how we research, support, and draft policy for brain health and brain skills — across four key silos of healthcare systems, employers, education institutions, and governments.
The Global Brain Economy Initiative (GBEI) will fill these gaps, bridge these silos, and scale the future of the brain economy through a central entity that serves as a driver, thought leader, and the connective tissue across brain economy efforts globally.
The ambitions of this initiative build on the recommendations from the World Economic Forum and McKinsey Health Institute Insight Report, The Human Advantage: Stronger Brains in the Age of AI.
“Investing in brain capital is the smartest bet for our future — with the potential to generate an estimated $6.2T in GDP gains by 2050.
By uniting science, policy, and community, the Global Brain Economy Initiative is unlocking human potential and building resilient societies. Together, we turn vision into lasting impact.”
Harris Eyre, MBBS, Ph.D.
Senior Fellow, Rice University & The University of Texas Medical Branch
Executive Director, Global Brain Economy Initiative
Senior Advisor, McKinsey Health Institute
Building the Brain Economy
Strong brains means stronger businesses, economies, and societies — it’s time to invest accordingly.
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Brain health’s impact on the global economy
-$8.5T
Estimated annual cost to the global economy due to lost productivity and care needs for impaired brain health.
+$6.2T
Estimated gains from investment in cost-effective interventions to prevent, treat, and support recovery for brain health conditions
Learn more about GBEI’s approach to building the brain economy
In 2026, GBEI will address silos and scale the future of brain capital — creating a single driver of human and economic performance by combining brain health and brain skills.
How GBEI is building the brain economy
Reframing brain health and skills as a single driver of human and economic performance
Demonstrating value through pilots that improve cognitive health and workforce performance
Putting in place the research, standards, and metrics that make the impact both visible and meaningful
Attracting smart investments that support brain capital, so funders see positive results for people and the economy