A reference guide to the companies, people, institutions, and technologies driving the brain-computer interface industry.
Swiss neurotech company building Europe's first fully implantable wireless optical-link ECoG brain-computer interface for patients with severe paralysis from ALS, spinal cord injury, and stroke. Spun out of the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering in January 2025.
Los Angeles-based neuroscience software company translating brain signals into actionable insights for entertainment, wellness, and enterprise applications. Founded in 2016 by neuroscientist Dan Furman and software engineer Eitan Kay.
Pioneer of the Utah Array intracortical microelectrode technology with decades of implant experience and FDA-cleared MoveAgain device. Tether took a majority stake in April 2024 with a $200 million strategic investment through Tether Evo, valuing the company at approximately $350 million. Not affiliated with the asset manager BlackRock.
Bioelectronic medical device company developing the Revi System, the only FDA-cleared implantable tibial neuromodulation device for urgency urinary incontinence in overactive bladder patients. Founded in 2010 by the Rainbow Medical Group. Closed $47.8 million in combined equity and debt financing on 14 May 2026.
Chinese non-invasive BCI company developing brainwave technology and intelligent bionic prosthetics. Founded in 2015 by Bicheng Han, incubated at Harvard Innovation Labs, headquartered in Hangzhou. Raised $286 million (CNY 2 billion) in January 2026 and confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO the same month.
German BCI company developing the Brain Interchange fully wireless closed-loop implant, advancing stroke rehabilitation through NIH-funded clinical trials.
Australian biotech company exploring biological computing through DishBrain, a hybrid system of cultured neurons on microelectrode arrays that demonstrated learned behavior in arcade games.
NASDAQ-listed bioelectronic medicine company developing Barostim, the only FDA-approved baroreflex neuromodulation therapy for heart failure. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Chinese ultrasound BCI startup founded by Shanda billionaire Tianqiao Chen and ex-NeuroXess founder Phoenix Peng, pursuing phased-array focused ultrasound for chronic pain treatment. Corporate entity registered September 2025; operations launched January 2026.
Barcelona-based neurotechnology company developing graphene-based brain-computer interfaces and intelligent network modulation devices. Spinout of ICN2 and ICREA, founded in 2019. Completed the world's first application of a graphene BCI in a human patient at Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester, September 2024.
NYSE-listed medical device company that makes the Inspire hypoglossal nerve stimulator, the only FDA-approved implantable therapy for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea in patients who cannot tolerate CPAP. Headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota.
Brain-computer interface research lab focused on bridging biological and artificial intelligence to maximise human ability. Co-founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania alongside Mikhail Shapiro, Tyson Aflalo, Sumner Norman, and Sandro Herbig. Launched publicly on 15 January 2026 with a $252 million seed round led by OpenAI at an $850 million post-money valuation.
Swiss-founded brain-technology company developing neurorehabilitation platforms at the intersection of neuroscience, biosensing, engineering, mixed reality, and artificial intelligence. Founded in Lausanne in 2012 by Tej Tadi; reached unicorn status in 2016 as the first European neurotechnology unicorn.
UK chip designer building ultra-low-power miniaturised neural interface integrated circuits for implantable brain-computer interfaces. Imperial College London spinout founded in 2022.
Nasdaq-listed bioelectronic medicine company (NASDAQ MOBI) developing the Vivistim Paired Vagus Nerve Stimulation System, the only FDA-approved paired-VNS therapy for chronic stroke upper-limb recovery. Renamed from MicroTransponder in February 2026; IPO priced May 2026 at $15 with first-week trading -22%.
Biotech company developing minimally invasive neurostimulation for major depressive disorder, targeting the 10x larger patient population compared to spinal cord injury alone.
Carlsbad California-based medical device company developing spinal cord stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation technology for chronic neuropathic pain. Acquired by Boston Scientific for approximately $533 million upfront cash (announced October 2025, closed January 2026).
Beijing-based BCI company incubated by the Chinese Institute for Brain Research (CIBR), developer of the Neucyber high-performance invasive BCI and the Beinao semi-invasive brain chip system.
Tsinghua-founded BCI company that received the world's first commercial approval for an implantable brain-computer interface from China's NMPA in March 2026. Headquartered in Changzhou, Jiangsu, with operations in Beijing and Shanghai.
Elon Musk's direct brain-computer interface company pursuing closed-loop neural recording and stimulation through minimally invasive robotic implantation and high-electrode-count chips.
NASDAQ-listed neurotechnology company developing closed-loop responsive neurostimulation for drug-resistant epilepsy. The RNS System is the only FDA-approved closed-loop brain-implant therapy for refractory focal epilepsy, with a PMA supplement filed for the IGE expansion indication.
Swiss neurotech company developing soft, stretchable cortical electrode arrays that sit on the surface of the brain without penetrating tissue. EPFL spinout from Prof. Stéphanie Lacour's Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, founded in 2020 and headquartered at Campus Biotech Geneva.
Shanghai-headquartered BCI company that completed China's first prospective invasive BCI human trial and is building a 14,300 sqm production facility in Jiangxi province for scale manufacturing.
European medtech company developing spinal cord stimulation therapies that restore movement and function after spinal cord injury, integrated with BCI technology.
Open-source brain-computer interface hardware and software company providing accessible EEG headsets and the Galea multi-modal biosensing platform for research and development.
Austin-based BCI startup developing the Connexus system with 1600 channels for high-resolution neural recording, focused on speech restoration through rapid clinical trials.
Founded by ex-Neuralink neurosurgeon Benjamin Rapoport, developing the Layer 7 surface-array BCI with minimally invasive implantation and FDA clearance.
Belgian neurotech startup developing the Occular cortical visual prosthesis, a brain implant that restores functional vision by stimulating the visual cortex directly. Founded in 2020 by Prof. Peter Janssen and Dr. Frederik Ceyssens out of KU Leuven. FDA Breakthrough Device Designation (March 2026); first-in-human trial cleared for Q3 2026.
Cleveland-based medical device company developing the SPRINT Peripheral Nerve Stimulation System, an FDA-cleared 60-day percutaneous PNS therapy for chronic pain. Acquired by Medtronic for approximately $650 million in upfront cash announced 20 May 2026.
Shanghai-based invasive BCI startup backed by Alibaba and Tencent, with over $160 million raised in cumulative funding and a 256-channel wireless implant in human trials.
Endovascular brain-computer interface company developing the Stentrode for motor control without open brain surgery. Founded in Melbourne in 2012 by Tom Oxley and Nicholas Opie, now headquartered in New York. Raised $200 million Series D in November 2025 bringing total funding to $345 million.
Pioneering BCI researcher at University of Pittsburgh who led the development of motor BCIs enabling paralyzed individuals to control robotic arms with high degrees of freedom through brain signals.
Neuroscientist who discovered population vector coding, demonstrating how populations of motor cortex neurons encode movement direction and providing foundational theory for brain-computer interfaces.
First woman to receive the Neuralink brain-computer interface implant and the ninth participant in Neuralink's PRIME clinical trial. Paralysed since a 2005 spinal cord injury at age 16, she now uses neural signals to write, draw, and create digital art through her NeuraArt Studio.
Neurosurgeon and co-founder of Precision Neuroscience, designer of the Layer 7 cortical interface surface array, previously a key figure in Neuralink's neurosurgical program.
Founder and CEO of BrainCo, the Harvard Innovation Labs-incubated non-invasive brain-computer interface company that became one of China's leading BCI players. Founded BrainCo in 2015 while pursuing his PhD at Harvard's Center for Brain Science.
Chief Scientific Officer at Cortical Labs, leading development of biological computers powered by cultured neurons
American technology entrepreneur and founder of Kernel (non-invasive brain measurement company) and Blueprint (anti-aging and longevity protocol). Sold Braintree-Venmo to PayPal for $800 million in 2013, then founded Kernel in 2016 to develop high-resolution non-invasive neural measurement technology.
CEO and co-founder of INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, the Barcelona-based neurotechnology company developing graphene-based brain-computer interface therapeutics. Spent 13 years at Medtronic's European headquarters in Switzerland leading brain modulation and diabetes businesses before co-founding INBRAIN in 2019.
Neuroscientist and engineer at Emory and Georgia Tech who developed LFADS (Latent Factor Analysis via Dynamical Systems), a foundational machine learning method for analyzing and decoding neural population dynamics.
American technology entrepreneur and venture capitalist focused on artificial intelligence and human-AI integration. Co-founded Vicarious, the AI research company acquired by Alphabet in 2022. Currently a Partner at Fifty Years (deep tech pre-seed/seed VC, San Francisco) and a high-profile public advocate of the human-AI merger framing of brain-computer interface technology.
Neurosurgeon and director of UC Davis Neuroprosthetics Lab. Led the 2024 UC Davis intracortical speech BCI study that achieved up to 97.5% accuracy in patient Casey Harrell with ALS, published in NEJM (Aug 2024) with Sergey Stavisky.
UCSF neurosurgeon and chair of neurological surgery, pioneered electrocorticography-based speech neuroprosthetics enabling real-time speech decoding from paralyzed patients.
Entrepreneur and founder of Neuralink, pursuing brain-computer interfaces as part of a broader vision of human-AI symbiosis and consciousness preservation.
Stanford neuroscientist and co-director of the Stanford Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory who achieved record-breaking speech BCI decoding speeds and accuracy.
EPFL neuroscientist who created the brain-spine digital bridge enabling paralyzed patients to walk again through thought-controlled spinal stimulation. 2026 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering laureate.
German psychiatrist and inventor of electroencephalography (EEG), who first recorded the electrical activity of the human brain in 1924.
Stanford neurosurgeon and co-director of the Stanford Neural Prosthetics Translational Laboratory who has performed numerous landmark BCI implant surgeries, including record-breaking speech BCIs.
Swiss neuroscientist and functional neurosurgeon at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and EPFL. Co-leads the Brain-Spine Digital Bridge research programme with Grégoire Courtine and the NeuroRestore Laboratory jointly managed by CHUV, the University of Lausanne, the Defitech Foundation, and EPFL. 2026 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering laureate.
President and CEO of NeuroPace, the publicly-listed neurotechnology company (NASDAQ NPCE) developing closed-loop responsive neurostimulation for drug-resistant epilepsy. Appointed July 2023 with more than 25 years of experience leading medical technology companies.
Founding father of the modern BCI field, creator of BrainGate, and pioneer of the Utah Array-based intracortical brain-computer interface for human use. 2026 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering laureate.
Neuroscientist and Director of the NIH BRAIN Initiative since 2020. Appointed to lead the multi-billion-dollar federal research programme developing tools to understand how the brain works and treatments for brain dysfunction. Previously a Berkeley faculty member for more than 25 years.
Spanish neuroscientist who pioneered electrical brain stimulation experiments, demonstrating the ability to modify behavior through direct stimulation of the brain in the 1960s-70s.
University of Houston neuroengineer leading large-scale BCI clinical trial surveys and pioneering non-invasive brain-machine interfaces for mobility restoration.
Late Stanford neuroscientist whose laboratory pioneered high-performance BCI algorithms and neural decoding methods, posthumously honored as a foundational figure in the field.
Director of the BrainGate research consortium, Brown University professor, and pioneer of clinical brain-computer interface research whose work established the foundation for current commercial BCIs.
Clinical neuroscientist at University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) and clinical lead of the INTRECOM consortium chronic-implant BCI programme for ALS patients. One of Europe's leading clinical investigators on implantable brain-computer interfaces for locked-in patients.
Founder and CEO of Paradromics, developing high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces that record from individual neurons to restore communication for people with severe paralysis.
Brazilian neuroscientist and pioneer of multi-electrode neural recording, demonstrated monkey brain-controlled robotic arms, and initiated the Walk Again Project connecting brain signals to exoskeletons.
Independent neurotechnology industry analyst and founder of Neurotech Futures. Publishes the biweekly Neurotech Notables Substack covering BCI markets, funding, clinical milestones, and industry analysis.
Co-inventor of the Stentrode endovascular brain-computer interface and founding CTO of Synchron
Co-founder and CEO of Neurosoft Bioelectronics, the Swiss neurotech company developing soft, stretchable cortical electrode arrays for brain-computer interface applications. EPFL trained microengineer and researcher in soft implantable bioelectronics.
Duke University law and philosophy professor, author of "The Battle for Your Brain," and leading voice on cognitive liberty, neuroethics, and the legal implications of neurotechnology.
Neuralink's first human patient, a quadriplegic who regained the ability to control a computer cursor with his mind through a brain-computer interface implant.
Pioneering neuroscientist who implanted the first long-term intracortical brain-computer interface electrode in a human patient in 1996, establishing the feasibility of chronic neural interfaces and the foundational case for long-term BCI use.
Executive Director of the Pritzker Institute of Biomedical Science and Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology and Principal Investigator of the Intracortical Visual Prosthesis (ICVP) project, the multi-institution consortium developing wireless cortical visual prosthetics for blind patients.
Serial BCI entrepreneur, co-founder of NeuroXess and founder of Gestala, driving China's noninvasive ultrasound brain-computer interface development.
Columbia University neurobiologist and founder of the NeuroRights Initiative, leading the global movement to protect mental privacy and cognitive liberty in the age of neurotechnology.
CEO of ABILITY Neurotech, the Geneva-based Wyss Center spinout building Europe's first fully implantable wireless optical-link ECoG brain-computer interface for patients with severe paralysis from ALS, spinal cord injury, and stroke.
UC Davis neuroscientist and neuroengineer who developed speech BCIs achieving 97% accuracy and enabling people with ALS to speak in real-time.
French-Swiss bioengineer and pioneer of stretchable electronics. Holds the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Neuroprosthetic Technology at EPFL, leads the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces, and is the founding director of EPFL's Neuro-X Institute.
Chair, President, and CEO of Inspire Medical Systems, the publicly-listed medical device company (NYSE INSP) that makes the only FDA-approved implantable hypoglossal nerve stimulation therapy for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.
Australian neurologist and founder of Synchron, pioneering the Stentrode endovascular brain-computer interface approach that eliminates open brain surgery.
Strategic futurist, keynote speaker, and author of NeuraLeap (Fast Company Press, 2027) — exploring how brain-computer interfaces will redefine commerce and power.
Multi-institutional research consortium pioneering clinical brain-computer interfaces, founded by John Donoghue at Brown University and currently directed by Leigh Hochberg. Conducts ongoing human trials demonstrating functional motor and speech control.
United States defense research agency that has funded foundational BCI research programs over decades, directly enabling the technological basis for current commercial brain-computer interfaces.
United States Food and Drug Administration's regulatory framework for brain-computer interfaces, balancing innovation speed with patient safety through Breakthrough Device designation and investigational exemptions.
US federal research initiative launched by President Obama in 2013 to develop innovative neurotechnologies and accelerate understanding of the brain. The Brain Research Through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative has invested more than $3.5 billion since 2014 and now operates a 10-year strategic roadmap organised around four Innovation Domains.
Independent Swiss research foundation in Geneva, founded by Hansjorg Wyss in 2014, translating neuroscience discoveries into clinical applications. Has incubated multiple neurotechnology spinouts including ABILITY Neurotech (January 2025).
Subdural electrode grid recording technology positioned on the brain's surface, enabling high-resolution neural signal acquisition with lower surgical invasiveness than penetrating arrays.
Fully noninvasive scalp-based neural recording using surface electrodes, the oldest BCI approach with limited spatial resolution but zero surgical risk.
Emerging noninvasive neuroimaging approach using ultrasound to measure hemodynamic changes reflecting neural activity. Distinct from transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) stimulation, which uses ultrasound to modulate neural circuits rather than read from them.
Synchron's endovascular electrode array delivered via catheter through blood vessels to the brain, enabling neural recording without open brain surgery.
The pioneering silicon microelectrode array technology developed at the University of Utah by Richard Normann's lab in the late 1980s and 1990s, establishing intracortical recording as a foundation of human BCI research.
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