By Kevin Truong, MedCity News | July 24, 2019
Startups around the country are focusing on developing brain-machine interface devices that can allow humans to control digital technology using only their minds.
Earlier this month, Elon Musk took the stage in a science museum in San Francisco and sketched out a bold vision of connecting a human brain to a computer.
The presentation was one of the first public unveilings of the technology behind his brain-machine interface (BMI) company Neuralink, which is trying to use robotically implanted super thin flexible “threads” in the brain to allow individuals to control computers and smartphones with their mind. An unpublished non-peer reviewed white paper credited to Musk and Neuralink lays out more of the technical details behind the technology.
Neuralink has starting initial testing in animal subjects and hopes to kick off human trials in paralyzed patients as soon as next year. Ultimately the goal, according to Musk, is allow “symbiosis with artificial intelligence” mitigating what he has previously described as an existential threat to humanity.
The 100-person startup has raised $158 million from investors in pursuit of that goal (much of it coming from Musk himself) but it’s far from the only player in the emerging BMI space. Here’s an overview of some of the other companies vying to meld human cognition and machines.
This Los Angeles-based startup was founded in 2016 by former Braintree CEO Bryan Johnson, who seeded the company with $100 million of his own money. The company employs around 50 engineers and researchers with the goal of creating what a non-invasive wearable to measure neural activity to help better understand and treat neurological diseases and eventually boost the power of the brain’s cognition. In 2017, the company acquired MIT-spinout Kendall Research Systems to help accelerate the development of their neural interface systems.
The Austin, Texas company is seeking to use BMI technology to help patients afflicted with conditions like paralysis, blindness and locked-in syndrome by creating high-volume data sharing between a human and machine. Paradromics has received $18 million as part of a Department of Defense-funded research initiative called the Neural Engineering System Design program, which is meant to help develop neurotechnology to mitigate the effects of injury and disease on the visual and auditory systems of military members. In addition, the company announced a $7 million seed funding round last year led by Arkitekt Ventures and Synergy Ventures.
Founded in 2015, Neurable has built brain sensing tools that can collect, visualize and analyze brain data to allow users to control VR and AR experiences. The small Boston-based startup’s DK1 device and associated software is able to link up with VR headsets in gaming applications, but has been branching out with commercial partners. Earlier this year, Neurable announced a collaboration with publicly-traded construction software and drone manufacturer Trimble to apply the startup’s technology to the transportation and construction industries and build better simulations and training tools.