Recently, WE-LINKING, a brain-machine intelligent fusion technology enterprise, announced the completion of an angel-plus round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB. The round was led by Gaorong Ventures, with participation from LSV CAPITAL and Shandong Qiji Investment Management Co., Ltd., and follow-up investment from CDH Investments. The company had previously completed an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB earlier this year.
This round of financing is mainly used to promote the research and development of a fully implantable medical-grade brain-computer interface system, including clinical research on implantable ultra-compliant high-density electrode arrays, clinical application verification of thousand-channel medical-grade neural signal acquisition and processing systems, finalization of hundred-channel neural electronic chips, as well as verification of bidirectional brain-computer interface precise neuromodulation technology and wireless broadband communication of neural signals.
In recent years, with the maturation of technology, brain-computer interfaces have achieved many milestone breakthroughs. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the proposal of the "brain-computer interface" concept and is also a crucial year for the commercialization and industrialization of the technology. Brain-computer interface companies have successively secured financing and made clinical progress.
WE-LINKING was founded in 2019 as a startup company focused on the full-stack technology research and development of medical-grade implantable wireless brain-computer interfaces. Dr. Li Xiaojiang, the founder, graduated from the Institute of Biophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Between 2010 and 2018, he conducted research on implantable brain-computer interface technologies for visual and motor systems at the Medical College of Georgia and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in the United States. In 2018, he joined the Institute of Cognitive and Brain Diseases at the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
WE-LINKING is currently the only team in China capable of independently developing brain-computer therapies and providing targeted solutions. The research and development team was the first in China to propose an implantable brain-computer interface solution based on high-density flexible electrode arrays on the surface of the cerebral cortex. They introduced a high-density mesh ultra-compliant neural electrode array, utilizing MEMS technology with micron-level ultra-thin structures and composite nanotechnology to enhance neural compatibility and conductivity. By attaching to the surface of the cerebral cortex, it achieves high spatiotemporal precision neural signals, solving the technical challenge of implantable brain-computer interfaces where the lifespan of the implantation target is limited to one-time use due to brain damage caused by penetrating electrodes.
Currently, WE-LINKING has largely completed the R&D of the full-stack hardware and software systems for brain-computer interfaces. In terms of hardware systems, the key core components include high-density ultra-flexible neural sensor arrays, integrated closed-loop neural electronic chips for signal acquisition and stimulation, multi-thousand channel miniature brain-computer information interaction devices, and wireless transceivers for brain information. Regarding the software systems, these encompass preprocessing algorithms, decoding analysis algorithms, and brain-like control algorithms. In terms of commercial applications, WE-LINKING covers multiple specific scientific research and clinical application scenarios. Several brain-computer interface products are nearing systematic completion of their development and are planned to enter the market in the near future.