Brain-Computer Interface Industry Sees Surge in Positive Developments as Listed Companies Actively Expand

Brain-Computer Interface Industry Receives Another Boost: On February 10, Shanghai StairMed Technology Co., Ltd. ("StairMed") announced on its official WeChat account that it had recently completed a Series B financing round of 350 million yuan. This financing represents the largest publicly disclosed funding in China's implantable brain-computer interface industry to date.

"StairMed's completion of financing shows capital's high recognition of brain-computer interface technology, especially invasive brain-computer interface technology, which is expected to promote technology research and development and clinical application, and accelerate the commercialization process of the industry." Cao Zhe, Chief Investment Officer of Beijing Avenzhuo Investment Management Co., Ltd., said in an interview with "SecuritiesReporters from the Daily Newspaper said in an interview.

Broad Market Prospects

According to the introduction, the proceeds from this round of financing by StairMed will be used to promote clinical trials of brain-computer interface products, the development of next-generation technology, and the construction of a medical-grade MEMS production base, accelerating the clinical application and commercialization process of brain-computer interface technology.

Data shows that brain-computer interface is a technology that creates a direct connection between the brain and external devices to achieve two-way information exchange. Its principle is based on collecting bioelectrical signals generated by the activity of brain neurons, processing, decoding, recognizing brain intentions, and converting them into commands.

Hong Yong, a think tank expert of the 50-person forum on the integration of digital and real economy in China, was interviewed bySecuritiesReporter from the Daily newspaper said that currently, the commercial application of brain-computer interface mainly focuses on medical,Education, entertainment, and other fields. At the medical level, its value is particularly prominent. With advanced signal acquisition and analysis technology, it can accurately capture early subtle changes in neurological diseases, precisely locate lesions, assist in neurofunctional rehabilitation, and at the same time, in adjuvant treatment, it can accurately regulate brain neural activity, aiding in the treatment of mental disorders and pain modulation.

"Brain-computer interface, as a cutting-edge technology, contains immeasurable industrial value. Currently, China has made significant breakthroughs in both invasive and non-invasive brain-computer interface fields. From precise neural signal acquisition to efficient analysis with complex algorithms, a series of technical achievements are no longer confined to laboratories and are accelerating towards applications in healthcare,Education", entertainment, and other fields, greatly advancing the commercial application of brain-computer interfaces." Said Zheng Lei, Chief Economist of Samoyed Cloud Technology Group.

In recent years, brain-computer interfaces have gained significant capital attention in the medical field, strongly promoting technological research and clinical applications. As early as the end of 2022, StairMed received an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan from Origin Capital, followed by another A round of financing worth hundreds of millions of yuan just 11 days later. MicroLing Medical Technology Co., Ltd. completed two rounds of financing in February and November 2023, with a total amount nearing 100 million yuan. Hangzhou Mind Universe Technology Co., Ltd. also completed an angel round of financing worth tens of millions of yuan in June 2022, focusing on advancing the application of brain-computer interfaces in the healthcare sector.

To accelerate the application and promotion of brain-computer interface, relevant policies have been introduced intensively since this year. On January 13, the National Medical Products Administration released "theMedical DeviceUsed forArtificial IntelligenceRecommended Requirements and Evaluation Methods for the Quality of EEG Datasets in AlgorithmsMedical DeviceIndustry Standards Development Plan, and Public Disclosure.

Moreover, in January this year, Beijing and Shanghai successively issued the "Action Plan for Accelerating the Innovative Development of Brain-Computer Interface in Beijing (2025-2030)" and the "Future Industry Cultivation Action Plan for Brain-Computer Interface in Shanghai (2025-2030)", both of which mentioned promoting the development of brain-computer interfaces and accelerating clinical applications in the medical field.

In terms of market size, according to McKinsey's estimates, the potential market size of global brain-computer interface medical applications is expected to reach 40 billion to 145 billion US dollars between 2030 and 2040.

Industry Heat Rises

"Besides the enthusiastic pursuit of capital and strong policy support, many listed companies in the brain-computer interface (BCI) industry chain have proactively laid out their strategies in the BCI field with remarkable foresight. Some enterprises have successfully overcome key technical challenges, achieving breakthrough progress; in terms of product applications, they continue to explore new application scenarios. These positive measures have preliminarily built a solid industry advantage, laying a good foundation for future development," said Lin Xianping, Secretary-General of the Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries at Zhejiang City College and associate professor.

Recently, the热度 of the brain-computer interface industry chain has continued to climb, with the market paying high attention to hot topics such as product research and innovation, industry development prospects, and corporate cooperation dynamics. Multiple companies in the industry chain have actively shared their latest progress.

XiamenIntretechA relevant person in charge of the company stated that several brain-computer interface products have been launched, and a head-worn EEG monitoring product has been co-developed with InteraXon.

Innovative HealthcareA relevant official from Management Co., Ltd. stated that the first brain-computer interface technology product of its subsidiary, Boling Brain-Machine (Hangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd., has been implemented in the medical and health field.

Sanbo Brain HospitalA relevant official from Hospital Management Group Co., Ltd. stated that the company has jointly established the Brain-Computer Precision Medicine Joint Research Center with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Tsinghua University, focusing on technological innovation and clinical translation in brain-computer precision medicine to promote research on brain diseases.Big DataModeling and computation, precision diagnosis and treatment of new technologies and other cutting-edge research.

Zhejiang JinkoTom CatA relevant person in charge of the cultural industry Co., Ltd. said that the company and Hangzhou Nuo NuoxiaoyunBig DataShanghai StairMed Technology Co., Ltd. signed the "Strategic Cooperation Agreement" to advance the preliminary work of industry-university-research cooperation in brain-computer interface.

He Jiuyong, General Manager of Guangdong Village Creation Technology Co., Ltd., stated that listed companies in the industrial chain still need to make efforts from multiple dimensions. In terms of technological breakthroughs, companies need to increase R&D investment to fully overcome technical bottlenecks such as signal acquisition and algorithm optimization, improving product performance; in terms of market expansion, companies need to deeply explore the medical,Education, entertainment, and other fields, expanding application scenarios.

(Source: Securities Daily)