Wuhan Accelerates on the Brain-Computer Interface Frontier with Breakthrough Innovations and Industrial Ecosystem

Brain-computer interface was written into the government work report for the first time this year. This future industry is accelerating from laboratory research to industrial implementation, becoming a new focus that regions across China are striving to seize. Wuhan is making all-out efforts to support universities, medical institutions, and enterprises in conducting core technology research, promoting Wuhan's brain-computer interface technology innovation capability to rank among the top in China.

On March 21, the 2026 (7th) China Brain Science and Neuro-modulation Technology Development High-level Forum was held in Wuhan. Wuhan Mayor Xiong Zhengyu introduced that Wuhan boasts a strong foundation in the optoelectronic industry and abundant clinical medical and scientific research resources, providing fertile ground for the brain-computer interface industry. In the field of brain-computer interfaces, Wuhan hosts several high-level innovation platforms such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Brain-Computer Interface Research Institute, and the Wuhan Jingce Institute. It has established the first brain science industrial base in Central China, gathering 15 upstream and downstream enterprises covering the entire industrial chain including core equipment and clinical validation. A special fund of 500 million yuan has been set up, along with the introduction of the "Brain-Computer Interface 11 Articles" policy to attract and cultivate key link leading enterprises in electrode chips and advanced algorithms. It is vigorously developing the intersection of medicine and engineering to promote brain control.RobotSuch demonstration applications are aimed at building an important growth pole for China's brain-computer interface industry.

At the conference, eight enterprises including Yiruide Group, Dome Medical, ChangYiDa, BaiYingNuo, GreenTek, and LingDong Medical signed agreements with Optics Valley Biolake, officially moving into the Optics Valley Brain-Computer Interface Industry Cluster. This cluster aims to build a full-chain service system from concept validation, clinical trials, registration inspection to industrial transformation.

Multiple "Wuhan-Made" China-First Technological Products Launched at the Conference. Yiruide Group unveiled a "photoelectric dual-modal" brain-computer interface system capable of non-invasive "thought" precision control of limbs, a lightweight time-domain near-infrared system that overcomes the challenge of quantifying cerebral hemodynamics, and a temporal interference electrical stimulator that enables non-invasive precise modulation of deep brain tissues. NEURACOM released invasive and semi-invasive products, with its 65,000-channel bidirectional system reaching a globally leading level, and is expected to achieve Class III medical device registration and commercial implementation this year.

Tongji Hospital Releases "Brain-Computer Interface Empowering the Full Chain of Innovative Application Scenarios for 'Prevention, Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment, Rehabilitation, and Management' of Major Functional Disorder Diseases"

"We will take Wuhan as the core, relying on the Optics Valley Brain-Computer Interface Industry Cluster. Led by Tongji Hospital, more than 130 alliance units will advance in three steps: first completing commercial validation, then establishing 3-5 business models, and ultimately building no fewer than five national demonstration bases across China to achieve cross-regional replication," said Tang Zhouping. He added that the "equipment + data + service" commercial ecosystem, along with medical device approvals, medical insurance payment systems, and other institutional frameworks, would be advanced simultaneously to create a groundbreaking and leading new scenario for brain-computer interface healthcare.

Not only Wuhan, but also many cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Nanjing have clearly laid out the brain-computer interface industry, making substantial progress in policy support, industrial clustering, clinical transformation, and enterprise cultivation.

Shanghai has gathered nearly 60 brain-computer interface companies, forming a full-chain ecosystem of "basic research + clinical transformation + manufacturing + application." Beijing, relying on institutions such as Tiantan Hospital and the Beijing Institute of Brain Science and Brain-like Intelligence, is promoting the development of fully implantable high-throughput brain-computer interfaces. Shenzhen focuses on "hard technology + marketization + industrial chain collaboration," emphasizing hardware, chips, and consumer-level applications. Nanjing prioritizes the development of application scenarios such as medical rehabilitation, disability assistance, and elderly care. Hangzhou has announced measures to support the future industry of brain-like intelligence, with a maximum subsidy of 100 million yuan for a single project.

The development of the brain-computer interface industry cannot be separated from talent cultivation. As the leader of a national key project on brain-computer interfaces, Hao Zhifeng, the president of Shantou University, told the First Financial News that AI provides a completely new key to exploring the brain—from high-throughput data analysis to complex neural regulation simulations, from intelligent disease diagnosis to personalized neural regulation solutions. AI is becoming the super microscope and precise scalpel of brain science research. Based on this understanding, Shantou University established the Future Medical Technology College earlier this year, which is dedicated to breaking down disciplinary barriers and cultivating a group of interdisciplinary talents who understand brain-computer interface theory, engineering technology applications, and the rules of industrial transformation.

The brain-computer interface industry has entered a stage of explosive growth. Data from CCID Consulting shows that the market size of China's brain-computer interface reached 3.2 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to grow to 6.14 billion yuan by 2028.

(This article is from Yicai)