Secured a new round of financing worth tens of millions of RMB, Sisheng Technology forays into the ultrasonic brain-computer interface track starting from CNS drug R&D.
Recently, AI-powered ultrasound brain-computer interface company 「Sisheng Technology」 announced the completion of a tens-of-millions-yuan Seed+ round of financing. This round of financing is led by China Auto Capital, followed by Yuanhe Puhua and Global Health Industry Innovation Center (GHIC), with continued capital injection from existing shareholders Inno Creation Fund and Shuimu Tsinghua Alumni Seed Fund, Lighthouse Capital acts as the exclusive financial advisor.
This is the second financing completed by Sisheng Technology within three months. Previously, the company has completed a tens-of-millions-yuan Seed round of financing, jointly invested by Inno Creation Fund and Shuimu Tsinghua Alumni Seed Fund. At present, Sisheng Technology is launching the third round of financing.
The funds from this round will be mainly used for core technology R&D of ultrasound brain-computer interface, medical device product advancement, construction of multi-modal brain data and AI brain science platform, and expansion of interdisciplinary talent team.
Finding Commercial Starting Point from CNS Drug R&D
The long-term vision of brain-computer interface is to realize more natural and in-depth human-computer interaction. But before reaching the final state, the industry first needs to find landing scenarios with clear demands that can generate commercial value.
At the current stage, Sisheng Technology chooses to cut in from the R&D of central nervous system (CNS) drugs.
The R&D of central nervous system drugs has long faced two major challenges: one is how to help drugs enter the brain more effectively, and the other is how to obtain real and continuous brain response data after drug action.
Focusing on these two issues, Sisheng Technology is exploring the use of focused ultrasound to reversibly and controllably open the blood-brain barrier, providing technical tools for new drug R&D, drug delivery and new use of existing drugs; at the same time, it uses ultrasound imaging to obtain cerebral microvascular blood flow and hemodynamic information, adding a new data dimension for drug efficacy evaluation.
CNS pharmaceutical companies have clear R&D demands and payment scenarios. The high-value brain data generated in the process of serving drug R&D can continuously feed back to algorithms, brain models and ultrasound intervention systems, forming a closed loop from clinical demand, data accumulation to model iteration and product upgrading.
Supplementing New Data Dimensions for Brain-Computer Interface
At present, common signals in the brain-computer interface field such as EEG, LFP and Spike mainly record neural electrical activities at different scales.
Ultrasound can provide another type of information, namely changes in cerebral microvascular blood flow and hemodynamics. Neural activities will lead to changes in local metabolic demands, which are further reflected as blood flow response.
Electrical signals are better at answering "when" neural activities occur, while ultrasound microvascular blood flow information can help judge "where" energy and blood flow changes occur. The two are not mutually replaceable, but different observation dimensions that can complement and calibrate each other.
By integrating electrophysiology, ultrasound imaging and other brain science data, Sisheng Technology is building a multi-modal brain data platform for the next-generation brain-computer interface, accumulating data foundation for brain signal decoding, individualized models and future foundational models of brain science.
Promoting Clinical Transformation from Major Brain Diseases
At the current stage, Sisheng Technology focuses on major brain diseases such as glioma and Alzheimer's disease to promote core technology verification and medical device product R&D.
The company is building a technical system covering ultrasound engineering, biomedical engineering, neuroscience, artificial intelligence and medical transformation, promoting the ultrasound brain-computer interface from laboratory verification to engineering, productization and clinical application.
In the long run, Sisheng Technology hopes to build an ultrasound brain-computer interface platform with the capabilities of "reading, writing, decoding and closed-loop": using ultrasound to realize brain signal acquisition and precise intervention, completing signal understanding, parameter optimization and closed-loop decision-making through AI, and gradually expanding to more brain diseases and brain science research scenarios.
Sisheng Technology chooses to cut in from serious medical scenarios, and at the current stage, it focuses on major brain diseases such as glioma and Alzheimer's disease to promote core technology verification and R&D of the first-generation medical device products.
Interdisciplinary Team Promotes Technology Implementation
The members of Sisheng Technology's team have scientific research and engineering backgrounds at home and abroad such as Tsinghua University, ETH Zurich, Peking Union Medical College, and have members from the cutting-edge talent programs of large technology enterprises.
The team's capabilities cover fields including biomedical engineering, ultrasound engineering, artificial intelligence, large models, medical transformation and engineering systems, and have the interdisciplinary capabilities required to promote the R&D, engineering and clinical transformation of ultrasound brain-computer interface.
In the future, Sisheng Technology will continue to promote the R&D of core technologies and medical products for ultrasound brain-computer interface, build a multi-modal brain data and AI brain science platform, and explore the next-generation technology path integrating brain science and artificial intelligence.
For this round of financing, Dr. Yan Yimo, Founder of Sisheng Technology, said: "Brain-computer interface is not a problem that can be solved by a single device or a single algorithm, but a systematic project that requires the joint advancement of brain science, ultrasound engineering, artificial intelligence and clinical medicine. Completing two consecutive rounds of financing within three months is not only the recognition of the investment institutions for the team, but also means that we need to transform technical capabilities into products and clinical value faster. After the completion of the new round of financing, we will continue to focus on core technologies and first-generation products, and place technical indicators, medical value and clinical transformation at equally important positions."
China Auto Capital said: "Brain-computer interface is a future industry with both national strategic value and commercialization potential. The clinical value of ultrasound brain-computer in the fields of blood-brain barrier opening and neuromodulation has been initially verified overseas. Sisheng Technology is formed by interdisciplinary talents from top universities such as Tsinghua and ETH, with both underlying technology R&D and clinical transformation capabilities. It first targets the precise drug delivery scenarios for brain tumors and Alzheimer's disease, and will later expand brain signal reading and decoding capabilities, covering interaction functions such as intention recognition and robotic arm control, opening up the connection path between carbon-based life and silicon-based intelligence, and is expected to grow into a leading enterprise in the field of AI brain science!"
Yuanhe Puhua said: "Brain-computer interface, as a future product clearly listed in the national '15th Five-Year Plan' that requires forward-looking layout, requires long-term technical accumulation and capital investment. The team of Sisheng Technology is composed of young scientist teams from top universities at home and abroad, and has shown amazing technical capabilities in multiple dimensions such as original product development, engineering realization and clinical transformation. In the selection of brain-computer interface technology and first indication, they have clear goals and plans for the technical architecture and product path required to achieve the goals. We are optimistic about the team's technical accumulation and long-term development potential in this cross-cutting field."
Global Health Industry Innovation Center (GHIC) said: "Ultrasound brain-computer interface integrates brain science, ultrasound engineering, artificial intelligence and clinical medicine, with high technical barriers and important clinical transformation value. The team of Sisheng Technology has a solid interdisciplinary background, has completed the first-generation prototype, and formed a clear development path in the application of major brain diseases, product engineering and AI brain science platform construction. We look forward to the team continuing to promote technology verification and medical device registration transformation, bringing original and globally competitive innovative products to the fields of brain science and brain health."
Inno Creation Fund and Shuimu Tsinghua Alumni Seed Fund said: "From the Seed round to the Seed+ round, we have continued to pay attention to and support the development of Sisheng Technology. The ultrasound brain-computer interface is still in the early stage of industrial development, and the real value needs to be established through continuous R&D, product verification and clinical transformation. We recognize the team's adherence to long-term goals, and also expect Sisheng Technology to grow into a globally competitive original Chinese enterprise in the field of brain science and brain-computer interface."
Li Hao, Partner of Lighthouse Capital, said: "To judge the long-term value of a brain-computer interface company, we should not only look at the upper limit of technology, but also the path of value realization. The scarcity of Sisheng Technology lies in that the company does not wait for the maturity of the long-term human-computer interaction scenario, but takes the lead in using ultrasound to solve the real, urgent and long-standing problems in the CNS industry; at the same time, it continues to expand the capabilities of brain data collection, precise intervention and AI analysis around the same underlying capability. Establishing near-term value with serious medical treatment and opening up long-term platform space with multi-modal data enables Sisheng Technology to have the opportunity to embark on a growth path with both clinical depth and technical scalability."
Diao Chenzhuo, Project Lead of Lighthouse Capital, said: "In the process of serving Sisheng Technology, what we are most concerned about is not just the cutting-edge nature of the technology, but whether the cutting-edge technology can truly enter the industry. Sisheng Technology cuts in from the high-value scenario of CNS drug R&D, connects controllable drug delivery, cerebral microvascular blood flow observation and drug efficacy evaluation, forming a clear business entry point. More importantly, every business implementation can precipitate high-value brain data, and feed back to the iteration of algorithms, models and products. This positive cycle of 'scenario implementation - data accumulation - capability upgrading' is a very prominent competitive advantage of the company. Lighthouse Capital is honored to serve as the exclusive financial advisor for this round of financing, and will continue to accompany the company to start the next stage of development."