Recently, Wiraxon (Shanghai) Medical Device Co., Ltd. (“Wiraxon”), a company focused on the research, development, and commercialization of brain-spine interface technology, announced the completion of its angel-round series financing, exceeding RMB 300 million. The round was led by Cathay Capital, with SDIC Pioneer and Sherpa Capital as co-lead investors, Hengxu Capital as a follow-on investor, and Fudan Sci-Tech Innovation, an existing shareholder, making additional investments. The funds raised will be primarily used to conduct nationwide multi-center registrational clinical trials for implantable brain-spine interface technology, construct the company’s headquarters in Waigaoqiao, Pudong, and advance its global strategic layout.
| “Cerebrospinal Interface” Is Not “Brain-Computer Interface”
According to statistics, there are over 20 million patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) worldwide. In China, the current number is approximately 3.74 to 4 million, with around 90,000 new cases each year. After injury, motor commands from the brain cannot be transmitted through the damaged area to the spinal cord, resulting in the loss of voluntary limb control for patients. Clinically, apart from rehabilitation training, there are no effective methods for recovery. Facing this significant and long-unmet need, Wiraxon has chosen to focus on developing brain-spine interfaces rather than conventional brain-computer interfaces (BCI).
Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) address the question of “how thoughts can control external devices,” with their essence being functional substitution—patients who have lost limb control instead operate external tools such as robotic arms or cursors. In contrast, Brain-Spine Interfaces (BSIs) redirect the focus back to the human body, aiming to reconstruct disrupted neural pathways between the brain and spinal cord, representing an advanced subspecialty within BCI technology. At its core, BSIs employ a bidirectional closed-loop system of “decoding–stimulation” with latencies in the sub-100-millisecond range, reactivating patients’ own spinal neural circuits so that paralyzed limbs once again respond to conscious command, thereby enabling physiological walking. In short, while BCIs allow individuals to use their thoughts to “command machines,” BSIs enable them to use their thoughts to “command themselves.”
| Fudan University Technology Transfer, Led by a Top-Tier Team, Pioneering the First Tri-Integrated Implant System
Wiraxon, established in Pudong, Shanghai in 2025, leverages technology transfer from Fudan University and focuses on the research, development, and commercialization of brain-spine interface technologies. The founder, Dr. Jia Fumin, has dedicated many years to the field of neuromodulation. He earned his Ph.D. from the National Engineering Laboratory for Neuromodulation Technology at Tsinghua University, where his research covered deep brain stimulation, frequency-modulated electrical stimulation, and freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Fudan University. Since 2020, he has served as an Associate Researcher at Fudan University’s Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-inspired Intelligence, specializing in implantable brain-spine interface technologies and committed to restoring motor function in patients with spinal cord injuries.
Under the leadership of Jia Fumin, the company has assembled senior medical device professionals from prestigious institutions such as Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, building comprehensive capabilities across the entire chain of “basic research – engineering translation – clinical validation.” Wiraxon’s pioneering core product under development is a 32-channel “three-in-one” implantable spinal cord neurostimulation system. This system implants 16 electrode contacts each at the brain’s motor cortex and the spinal cord, serving as “signal transceiver stations” to capture the brain’s walking intentions in real time, translate them into electrical signals understandable by the spinal cord, and enable patients to regain movement. Classified as a Class III implantable medical device, it integrates sensing, computing, and modulation functionalities. Its core competitiveness is demonstrated in three key dimensions: minimally invasive implantation (simultaneous placement of brain and spinal electrodes via puncture only, with surgery lasting approximately 4 hours), low-latency signal response (proprietary algorithms achieving latency below 10 ms), and highly integrated design (half the volume of imported products, a 30% increase in battery life, and an expected price point approximately half that of imported alternatives).
In terms of clinical validation, the product has currently completed Phase I preclinical validation. In 2025, Wiraxon, in collaboration with expert teams from Zhongshan Hospital and Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, completed the initial clinical proof-of-concept study involving four patients with complete spinal cord injury. All patients regained voluntary motor control of their legs within 24 hours post-surgery, with the fastest case achieving voluntary hip and knee joint movement within seven days. Meanwhile, the product received Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. FDA, making it the first and only project in China’s invasive brain-computer interface field to obtain this recognition. Furthermore, the company has established production lines for Class II and Class III active implantable medical devices in compliance with national standards, laying a solid foundation for clinical trials and future mass production.
△ Group photo of the Jia Fumin team, the Zhongshan Hospital joint team, and the patient
It is reported that the company will soon launch a nationwide, multi-center registrational clinical trial, with plans to advance the clinical implementation of its core products and commence production at new manufacturing lines in 2026, while simultaneously initiating R&D on wearable simulation robots. Regarding equity financing, public information indicates that Wiraxon completed its first angel funding round on December 11, 2025, with investors including Pudong Capital, Furong Investment, and Fudan Sci-Tech Innovation; however, the amount raised was not disclosed. The current transaction represents a subsequent closing of the same funding round. These five institutional investors span cross-border private equity, specialized healthcare venture capital, industrial capital, local state-owned assets, and university technology transfer platforms, further underscoring the growth potential of this sector. To date, Wiraxon’s cumulative angel funding ranks first among domestic companies in the brain-spine interface sector.
