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Visual brain-computer interface developer Nanochap raises RMB 500 million
Devices1 min read
Nanochap, a company in Hangzhou, China, that builds brain-computer interfaces to help restore sight, raised RMB 500 million (about 500 million Chinese yuan) in new funding. The money brings its total funding to RMB 1 billion.
What happened
On November 3, Nanochap announced a Series C+ funding round of RMB 500 million. Gaorong Ventures led the round. Other investors included PICC Equity, Monolith, and C&D Emerging Industry Investment. This is the company's second funding round this year.
Key numbers and facts
- New funding: RMB 500 million
- Total funding so far: RMB 1 billion
- Founded: 2014
- Retinal interface: 320 channels, now in clinical trials with 3 participants who have received implants
- Visual-cortex interface: 1,280 channels, still in development, with clinical validation planned
What the company does
A brain-computer interface is a device that connects the brain to a computer. Nanochap wants to use this technology to help people see again. It builds two kinds of systems. One stimulates the retina, the light-sensing layer at the back of the eye. The other targets the visual cortex, the part of the brain that processes what we see.
Why it matters
Large funding rounds show that investors believe brain-computer interfaces for vision could become a real medical product. The retinal system is already being tested in people, which is an important step. The visual-cortex system is not yet tested, so it is still far from patients.
What to watch
- Results from the clinical trials of the 320-channel retinal interface
- Progress on the 1,280-channel visual-cortex interface and its planned clinical validation
- How the new funding is used to speed up development
Glossary
- Nanochap
- A Hangzhou company that develops brain-computer interfaces to help restore vision.
- brain-computer interface
- A device that links the brain directly to a computer so they can send signals to each other.
- Gaorong Ventures
- An investment firm that led this funding round.
- retina
- The thin layer at the back of the eye that senses light and sends signals to the brain.
- visual cortex
- The area of the brain that handles processing of what we see.