Thursday, November 14, 2024

CEO of Neuralink rival on the future of brain computer tech

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Imagine moving a computer mouse with only your thoughts. You think it, and it’s done.

It may be science fiction, but it’s becoming a reality for some.

“It sounds maybe a little bit abstract or perhaps even trivial,” Michael Mager, co-founder and CEO of Precision Neuroscience, told Yahoo Finance at the annual Invest conference on Tuesday. “But for a certain group of people, it has the potential to be totally transformative.”

Precision has developed a brain implant to reconnect patients suffering from severe paralysis to the digital world. These patients can’t use their arms or hands and, in some cases, can’t speak. There are roughly 400,000 people in the US who fit that description.

So far, the company has temporarily implanted its brain-computer interface (BCI) into 25 patients during clinical studies that don’t require FDA approval.

BCI is a growing field with several well-funded startups. An October Morgan Stanley report said the BCI industry is a potential $400 billion market in the US. The analysts expect commercial activity to be five years away with an estimated 3 million potential users for its first-generation devices. They forecast $1.5 billion in revenue by 2035, estimating it’ll hit a $500 million annual run rate in 2036 and extending to a $1 billion annual run rate by 2041.

The Layer 7 Cortical Interface packs 1,024 electrodes into a surface area of 1.5 square centimeters — providing 600 times greater electrode density than standard cortical arrays. · Precision Neuroscience

Precision Neuroscience was founded in 2021 by Mager and Benjamin Rapoport, a neurosurgeon and engineer who previously co-founded Neuralink alongside Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk. He left Neuralink in 2018.

Precision’s implant, called the Layer 7 Cortical Interface, is a thin and flexible film material about a fifth of the thickness of a human eyelash. Each array has 1,024 electrodes on a 1.5-square-centimeter surface.

The array is implanted by surgeons through a micro-slit less than 1mm wide in a minimally invasive procedure. Unlike its rivals, the BCI sits on top of the brain, not in its tissue.

According to Mager, Precision has raised more than $140 million to date, including a $93 million round last month. Its investors include B Capital, Forepont Capital Partners, Draper Associates, Mubadala Capital, Alumni Ventures, and re.Mind Capital.

Other implantable BCI companies — Neuralink, Paradromics, Blackrock Neurotech, and Inbrain Neuroelectronics — make devices that penetrate the brain’s tissues, which carries a higher risk of infection and cell damage.

Synchron, backed by Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft (MSFT) founder Bill Gates, has developed a stent-like device that’s inserted through the blood vessels in the patient’s brain.

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