All posts tagged: ultrasound BCI

Chinese brain interface startup Gestala raises M just two months after launch

Chinese brain interface startup Gestala raises $21M just two months after launch

Published by skeptic

Elon Musk’s Neuralink and OpenAI-backed Merge Labs are pushing forward with brain–computer interface (BCI) technology in the U.S. Meanwhile, Chinese serial entrepreneur Phoenix Peng is building rival efforts through two startups: NeuroXess, which develops implantable BCI systems, and a second company, Gestala, developing non-invasive ultrasound-based BCIs. Gestala has raised $21.6 million (CN¥150 million) just two months after launching, at a valuation of $100 million to $200 million, founder and CEO Phoenix Peng told TechCrunch. The round, co-led by Guosheng Capital and Dalton Venture with participation from Tsing Song Capital, Gobi Ventures, Fourier Intelligence, Liepin and Seas Capital, was heavily oversubscribed, with investor commitments totaling more than $58 million, Peng added. This is the largest early-stage funding in China’s BCI industry. Peng will use the money towards R&D, expanding the team from 15 to about 35 employees by year-end, and building a manufacturing facility in China. The three-month-old startup aims to complete its first-generation prototype by the end of the year. The global BCI industry is currently experiencing an investment surge in ultrasound technology. Gestala is …

China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing ahead

China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing ahead

Published by skeptic

While Elon Musk’s Neuralink likes to say it’s “pioneering” brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), China’s BCI industry is already quietly moving from research to scale. A new wave of startups is racing to commercialize both implantable and noninvasive BCIs, backed by stronger policy support, expanding clinical trials, and growing investor interest. So says Phoenix Peng, who has founded not one, but two BCI startups. He’s a co-founder of NeuroXess, maker of BCI implants, as well as founder and CEO of noninvasive ultrasound BCI startup Gestala. His belief in the potential of this market is founded on concrete action: Provinces such as Sichuan, Hubei, and Zhejiang have already set medical service pricing for BCI, speeding its inclusion in the national medical insurance system. Over time, he foresees the technology extending beyond medicine “treating disease” to “human augmentation,” he said. “I have always maintained that neuroscience and AI are two sides of the same coin. They are destined for deep integration, realizing direct high-bandwidth connections between the human brain and AI. BCI will serve as the ultimate bridge between …