Focus: Brain-computer connection in progress

The popularity of the brain-computer interface sector has continued to soar and has become one of the most explosive technology sectors in the capital market this year. As of now, there are more than 20 A-share listed companies related to the concept.

Recently, with major technology breakthroughs successively announced by leading domestic and foreign enterprises and research institutions, the popularity of the brain-computer interface sector has continued to soar, and it has become one of the most explosive concept sectors in the capital market.

However, on the flip side, behind the excitement of technological breakthroughs, there still lurk real pains - the gap between laboratory results and clinical implementation is testing the true resilience of the industry.

Frequent Technological Breakthroughs in the "Year Zero" of the Industry

If we talk about the highlight moments in the field of domestic cutting-edge medical technology in 2025, the brain-computer interface is undoubtedly the "top star" under the spotlight. A series of landmark technological breakthroughs are reshaping the industry's imagination space.

Let's look back along the timeline.

In January, Shanghai Brain Tiger Technology, based on its fully independently developed 256-channel implantable flexible brain-computer interface, collaborated with Huashan Hospital to conduct the first domestic clinical trial of real-time Chinese decoding, achieving "brain control" of intelligent devices and "mind dialogue".

In February, the School of Integrated Circuits of Tsinghua University and the Brain-computer Haihe Laboratory of Tianjin University jointly announced the development of a "dual-loop" non-invasive evolved brain-computer interface system. Based on memristor neuromorphic devices, this system has higher precision, lower energy consumption, and can handle more complex tasks, achieving efficient four-degree-of-freedom control of drones by the human brain.

In March, Zhongshan Hospital, in collaboration with the team of Jia Fumin from Fudan University, announced that using minimally invasive cerebrospinal interface technology, they achieved the world's first case of a completely paraplegic patient recovering the ability to stand and walk.

In April, Hainan University released the core technology and products of the implantable brain-computer interface, achieving full-chain coverage of brain-computer interface signal acquisition, regulation, and transmission, marking that China has achieved full-chain technological self-control in the field of brain-computer interfaces.

In May, Jieti Medical presented the results of the first domestic prospective clinical trial of an invasive brain-computer interface. A subject who lost all four limbs can now operate a computer with their mind and play games such as racing and chess smoothly.

In June, the team of Professor Duan Feng from Nankai University completed the world's first interventional brain-computer interface-assisted repair trial of the motor function of a patient's affected limb, helping a 67-year-old patient who had been paralyzed on the left side due to a cerebral infarction for half a year to recover motor function.

Liu Xiao, the managing director of Yuansheng Venture Capital, pointed out in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that major clinical progress is a milestone event in the field of brain-computer interfaces. For investment institutions, this not only releases some potential risks and increases the probability of success, but the rising expectations it brings will also drive up the valuation, and the increase depends on the importance of the clinical progress.

As technology continues to break through, there are also positive developments at the top - level policy design level.

In March 2025, the National Healthcare Security Administration released the Guidelines for the Establishment of Pricing Projects for Neurological Medical Services (Trial), in which a special forward - looking project was established for the new brain - computer interface technology, setting up pricing items such as the implantation fee for invasive brain - computer interfaces, the removal fee for invasive brain - computer interfaces, and the adaptation fee for non - invasive brain - computer interfaces. This policy has paved the way for the charging of brain - computer interface technology after its maturity for rapid clinical application, effectively solving the problem of difficult product implementation due to vague pricing.

Subsequently, in April and May, Hubei Province and Zhejiang Province took the lead in introducing charging standards for brain - computer interfaces. At the same time, regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan also successively released action plans for the cultivation and development of the brain - computer interface industry, clarifying goals for technological breakthroughs, scenario applications, and industrial agglomeration.

With the accelerated iteration of brain - computer interface technology and the continuous improvement of the policy support system, the industry has entered a stage of rapid development. According to data from CCID Consulting, the market size of China's brain - computer interface reached 3.2 billion yuan in 2024 and is expected to rise to 5.58 billion yuan by 2027. This industrial boom is rapidly spreading to the capital market, driving up the activity of the brain - computer interface sector and making it the "most eye - catching star" in the field of technology investment.

Investment Logic under the Fervent Capital Chasing

As of now, there are more than 20 A - share listed companies related to the brain - computer interface concept. Since the brain - computer interface industry chain involves many sub - fields, almost no enterprise can cover all aspects completely. They are deploying at various links of the industry chain: the upstream focuses on chip design and algorithm development, the mid - stream focuses on the research and development of signal acquisition platforms and intelligent devices, and the downstream delves into clinical transformation scenarios, forming a complete industrial map covering "core technology - hardware carrier - application implementation".

These enterprises, with their differentiated technological paths, enter the market through non - invasive, semi - invasive, and invasive methods, and promote the transformation of China's brain - computer interface industry from concept to actual implementation from multiple dimensions such as neural signal decoding, the construction of brain - computer interaction systems, and disease diagnosis and treatment applications.

Looking specifically at the performance in the secondary market, the brain - computer interface concept index has risen significantly since the beginning of this year. According to Wind data, as of June 27 this year, the brain - computer interface index has increased by 4.7% during the period, and many stocks have performed outstandingly. Including Aipeng Medical, Innovation Medical, Hanwei Technology, Taihe Technology, Yanshan Technology, Sanbo Brain Hospital, and Chengyitong have all risen to varying degrees.

In the primary market, according to data from the VC Link of Cailian Press, as of March 13, there have been 4 investment and financing events in the brain - computer interface field this year, with a total financing amount of 430 million yuan, far exceeding the 161 million yuan level of last year. Among them, in February this year, Jieti Medical announced the completion of a Series B financing of 350 million yuan, setting a new record for a single - round financing in China's implantable brain - computer interface industry.

Not only domestic capital is enthusiastic, but overseas capital is also the same.

At the beginning of June, Neuralink, a brain - computer interface company under Elon Musk, announced the completion of a Series E financing of 650 million US dollars, and the company's valuation soared to 9 billion US dollars at one point. The enthusiastic response of the capital market not only reflects the recognition of the current progress of the brain - computer interface but also the strong expectation of its broad future application prospects and commercial value.

In terms of investment directions, different institutions also have different focuses. Liu Xiao said that he is more optimistic about the invasive brain - computer technology, the highest - barrier track, and especially pays attention to the field of flexible neural interfaces. Each piece of clinical progress in this direction not only continuously solves the underlying logic of the risk - return equation but also constantly breaks through the bandwidth limit of neural signal communication, thereby promoting the in - depth reconstruction of the valuation system.

Liu Xiao also mentioned that from the perspective of the competitive landscape, the invasive technology route is showing significant differentiation. Leading enterprises have formed an obvious Matthew effect in the aggregation of capital and resources due to their technological first - mover advantage.

Zhang Kechang from Zhizhi Asset Management said in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that he is more concerned about non - invasive brain - computer interfaces. Compared with invasive ones, the core advantage of non - invasive brain - computer interfaces lies in their convenience and the ability to achieve rapid mass production. Once cost control is achieved, they can be promoted on a large scale as new medical consumer products in the mass market.

Regarding the recently highly - discussed interventional brain - computer interface (that is, through a minimally invasive interventional method, making a small puncture in the blood vessel and achieving brain - computer connection through a minimally invasive surgery similar to cardiac stent intervention), Zhang Kechang believes that compared with the invasive technology, the interventional route is more gentle and is a very promising technological route. However, the post - operative health status and recovery of the patient's activity ability still need to be continuously monitored. Both the interventional and invasive technologies are still in a long - term technological breakthrough stage and have a long way to go.

In addition, the two investors also expressed different views on the selection of investment targets in the brain - computer interface field.

Liu Xiao pointed out: "The brain - computer interface track is still in the very early stage of development. Our investment focus is on the core team, and we mainly consider the leading nature of the technology and the complementary abilities of team members. In the dimension of technology evaluation, although animal experiments are still a key objective indicator, they are no longer sufficient to support investment decisions at this stage. The progress of clinical experiments is becoming the new core evaluation standard."

Zhang Kechang told a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily: "If the investment target is the invasive brain - computer path, we pay more attention to whether the enterprise has established cooperation with leading brain hospitals. After all, brain hospitals with leading technology can provide professional support in clinical research, which is crucial for technology verification and iteration. In the non - invasive brain - computer path, our focus is on the product registration and approval progress, product pricing strategy, and actual application effects. These factors directly affect the rhythm of commercial implementation and the market expansion space."

Dilemma under Multi - dimensional Realistic Tests

During the recent Summer Davos Forum, Tom Oxley, the founder of Synchron, a brain - computer interface company and a competitor of Neuralink in the United States, said that it is expected to take another 3 to 5 years for the brain - computer interface technology to be approved for medical applications, and it will take at least 15 to 20 years for consumer - grade implantable devices to be launched. This judgment reflects that the process of the brain - computer interface moving from the laboratory to clinical practice still faces multi - dimensional realistic tests.

From a technical perspective, the invasive solution needs to break through the bottleneck of the biocompatibility of neural electrodes - the immune rejection reaction and brain tissue damage that may be caused by long - term implantation are still key problems restricting its clinical popularization. The durability and signal stability of flexible electrode materials also need to be strictly verified in the transformation from animal experiments to human applications.

Although the non - invasive technology avoids the risk of trauma, the low signal - to - noise ratio and insufficient spatial resolution of scalp electroencephalogram signals make it difficult to meet the clinical requirements for instruction decoding accuracy. Especially in complex motor function repair scenarios, the balance between accuracy and real - time performance is still the focus of technological breakthroughs.

At the clinical transformation level, the ethical review and long - term safety assessment systems are still imperfect: how to define the risk - benefit ratio of invasive surgery, the long - term tracking standards for the patient's post - operative cognitive function and quality of life, and the emergency response mechanism when the brain - computer interface system fails all require the establishment of interdisciplinary ethical norms and clinical guidelines.

In addition, there are vague areas in the registration and approval standards for medical devices. The existing regulations lack targeted guidance on the classification and definition of innovative brain - computer interface products, the clinical trial cycle, and data requirements, resulting in uncertainty for enterprises in the application process.

Gao Yan, the founder and CEO of Weiming Brain, pointed out to a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily: "The key for brain - computer interface technology to move from the laboratory to clinical application is to meet regulatory requirements. As a category of medical devices, its effectiveness and safety need to be strictly evaluated by regulatory authorities. This requires the R & D team to take regulatory requirements as the core orientation in the algorithm design and clinical verification links, and through systematic experimental data and scientific demonstrations, effectively respond to the specific requirements of regulatory authorities regarding the product's safety boundaries and effectiveness indicators. This is the primary prerequisite for the clinical transformation of brain - computer interface technology."

Gao Yan also mentioned that the two technological paths of invasive and non - invasive face different regulatory logics: the former needs to break through the "hard threshold" of ethics and safety, while the latter needs to break through the "soft chain" of medical service pricing, that is, to establish a reasonable value evaluation system in clinical scenarios and solve the problems of pricing and charging mechanisms.

In the commercial implementation stage, the contradiction between cost control and the payment system is also prominent: the high cost of minimally invasive surgical equipment and post - operative maintenance of the invasive system makes it difficult for most patients to afford, and the medical insurance reimbursement policy has not included brain - computer interface technology in routine diagnosis and treatment items; although non - invasive products have the potential for consumer - grade scenarios, the high cost of medical - grade certification contradicts the price sensitivity of the mass market. How to find a balance between technological premium and market popularization is still an important issue for the large - scale development of the industry.

Overall, the above challenges require continuous technological innovation breakthroughs and also rely on the coordinated promotion of policies, ethics, and capital to promote the brain - computer interface to move from the laboratory to real clinical application scenarios.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily", author: Shi Zhuiyun, published by 36Kr with permission.