Still experimental, investors are betting on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). While some see the tech as a brain injury solution, others want to uplevel cognition by merging human and machine.
Coherence Neuro. Securing a $45M seed round, Coherence is targeting brain tumors, using an implant to detect cancer signals and deliver e-stim treatment in real time.
Neuralink. Elon Musk’s Neuralink added $650M last year, with Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, Thrive Capital, and ARK Invest on its cap table. Using paralysis patients to prove efficacy, its bigger ambition is “human-AI symbiosis.”
Precision Neuroscience. Less invasive than Neuralink, Precision counts funding from Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square and the Ackman Oxman Institute. It closed a $250M Series D in September, with a focus on treating neurological injuries.
Merge Labs. Exiting stealth with $252M in January, Sam Altman’s Merge sees BCIs as a means for “bridging biological and artificial intelligence” through “The Singularity.”
Bridge Neurotech. Emerging with $13.5M this month, Bridge is pursuing noninvasive wearables over surgical implants to boost access, using ultrasound to read the brain.
Looking ahead: BCIs have moved from fringe to funded, but legal and ethical quandaries mean regulation and rollout beyond trials remains years away.
