Synchron has reeled in another $200 million in a series D round—cash the company said it will use to expand operations and accelerate commercialization of its nonsurgical brain-computer interface (BCI) for people with paralysis.
Double Point Ventures led the round and was joined by existing investors Arch Ventures, Khosta Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, NTI and Metis, Synchron announced Thursday, Nov. 6.
The Australian National Reconstruction Fund, T.Rx Capital, the Qatar Investment Authority, K5 Global, Protocol Labs and IQT also participated.
The funding, which brings the New York-based medtech’s total haul to $345 million, comes as momentum for BCI companies is growing.
Earlier this week, Precision Neuroscience, another BCI developer focused on paralysis, announced a partnership with SCI Ventures, a fund backed by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, to advance its Layer 7 Cortical Interface.
Last month, a study showed Science Corp.’s PRIMA BCI retinal implant restored some vision to people with severe age-related macular degeneration. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s Neuralink earlier this year said it raised $650 million to expand patient access to its brain chip technology.
Synchron’s Stentrode BCI system, like other BCIs, records and transmits neural signals to allow for hands-free control of digital devices. But Synchron’s wireless implant is delivered to the motor cortex by being threaded through the jugular vein in a minimally invasive, catheterlike procedure, avoiding the need for surgery.
The device has been implanted in 10 patients with paralysis to date across clinical trials in the U.S. and Australia, according to the company.
In August, Synchron announced it was the first to link its BCI to an iPad, allowing a person with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to navigate the apps and write text using only his thoughts. That same patient had previously controlled an Apple Vision Pro headset, according to the company, and later connected to Amazon’s Alexa using the implanted device, which allowed him to turn on lights, make video calls and play music without using his hands, voice or eyes.
Synchron said the latest cash will help the startup accelerate pivotal trials, prepare for commercial launch and hire engineers, neuroscientists and others to “advance the next generation of brain-computer interfaces.”
An expanding cognitive artificial intelligence division in New York City will train models that learn from brain data to decode thought in real time, the company noted, while a new San Diego engineering hub is working on an advanced brain interface.
“We’ve built the first non-surgical brain-computer interface designed for everyday life for people with paralysis,” Synchron CEO and founder Tom Oxley, M.D., Ph.D., said in the announcement. “This funding brings us closer to commercializing the Stentrode BCI platform, while accelerating the development of a major breakthrough in the field—a next-generation transcatheter high-channel whole-brain interface.”