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Global fascination with Elon Musk's exploits explains the sudden interest in neurotechnology. This year, his startup Neuralink announced its first successful human trial. Noland Arbaugh, 29, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down, received a Neuralink neural computer interface, or BCI. Within days he was filmed playing Mario Kart with his mind. For now, trials are limited to patients. But Neuralink's $5 billion valuation envisions a future in which everyone can use a human-to-human communication interface (BCI).
The idea of using devices to detect and decode brain activity and transmit it to an external device is not new. The first invasive transplant in humans took place in the late 1990s. Dozens of patients have received transplants since then.
What has changed in recent years is the level of funding available to startups that see a use for BCI outside of medical technology. According to PitchBook, neurotech companies raised a record $1.4 billion across 115 deals last year. Leading the pack is Neuralink, which has raised nearly $700 million to date.
Exits are still relatively rare. PitchBook predicts that Neuralink is more likely to be listed than bought. Devices that are created for commercial use are not scanned. The idea that they might one day cure depression, eliminate the need for mobile devices, or speed up general human abilities remains fanciful.
Invasive procedures too. Companies like Blackrock Neurotech, founded in 2008, and Neuralink, remove a piece of the skull and add sensors directly to the brain to pick up electrical signals. Texas-based Paradromics, founded by a Neuralink co-founder and funded by the US Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, makes devices that pick up neural signals from the brain via a receiver in the chest. Synchron, which has raised $130 million from investors including another Neuralink founder, is adding its sensors to the brain via blood vessels.
The good news is that the brain does not feel any pain. However, the nature of the procedures limits the audience for BCIs. Patients with degenerative diseases or paralysis have much more gain than the average consumer.
To reach the consumer audience, neurotech startups will need to prove they can significantly enhance human capabilities. Instead, they will need to produce wearable devices that can record and even influence brain activity from the scalp, rather than being installed inside the brain.
Even then, there will be concerns about the use of the intimate data collected. The case for investing in consumer neurotechnology is still decades away.
elaine.moore@ft.com
