Metis

Synchron\'s device has been implanted in 10 patients with paralysis to date across clinical trials in the U.S. and Australia.\n 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.” 

New York-based Synchron , a brain-computer interface (BCI) company, has raised $200 million in Series D funding, bringing its total raise to $345 million. Double Point Ventures led the round, with participation from existing investors ARCH Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, NTI and METIS. New investors include the Australian National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), T.Rx Capital, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), K5 Global, Protocol Labs and IQT. WHAT IT DOES Synchron's Stentrode BCI is a non-surgical endovascular brain-computer interface platform designed to help improve mobility, communication and independence for individuals with paralysis. It's placed in the brain via a non-surgical catheter procedure and translates brain activity into digital commands by interfacing with the motor cortex through the blood vessels, recording and transmitting neural signals. The BCI allows one to control digital devices hands-free and has been placed in 10 paralysis patients in clinical trials in Australia and the U.S. The company will use the funds to accelerate trials and commercialization of its BCI. It also plans to expand its operations in New York, where its cognitive AI division will train models that learn from brain data, and San Diego, where its engineering hub is established. "This funding brings us closer to commercializing the Stentrode BCI platform, while accelerating development of a major breakthrough in the field – a next-generation, transcatheter high-channel whole-brain interface," Tom Oxley, CEO and founder of Synchron, said in a statement. MARKET SNAPSHOT Synchron secured an oversubscribed $75 million Series C funding round in 2022, bringing its total raise at the time to $145 million. A year before, the company scored $40 million in Series B funding . In 2017, the company garnered $10 million in Series A financing. In August, Synchron announced that Mark Jackson, an ALS patient from its FDA-approved COMMAND trial, was the first person to control an iPad using its BCI using only his thoughts. The company released a video showing Jackson using an iPad controlled entirely by his thoughts. Jackson received Synchron’s Stentrode, which integrates with Apple’s Switch Control accessibility feature, allowing him to type, navigate and open apps using his thoughts instead of physical movement. In May, Synchron announced that it would be the first BCI company to reach native integration with Apple's BCI HID profile, which recognizes neural interfaces as a native input category. Apple and Synchron said the integration will allow for voice-free and hands-free digital access to individuals with motor impairment, including ALS, stroke and spinal cord injury patients. Synchron announced that it leveraged NVIDIA 's Holoscan platform in January to enhance its implantable BCI by improving real-time edge AI capabilities for on-device neural processing, improving signal processing and multi-AI inference technology, and exploring the development of a foundation model for brain inference.

Synchron, a New York, NY-based manufacturer of non-surgical brain-computer interface technology, said it has raised a $200 million series D round. The funds are expected to accelerate commercialization of the company’s first-generation Stentrode BCI platform, while advancing development of a frontier next-generation interface. The financing brings Synchron’s total funding to $345 million. Double Point Ventures led the round, alongside existing investors ARCH Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, NTI and METIS. New investors include the Australian National Reconstruction Fund (NRF), T.Rx Capital, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), K5 Global, Protocol Labs, and IQT. Synchron said its Stentrode BCI platform is the first endovascular brain-computer interface, designed to translate brain activity into digital commands without open-brain surgery. Placed via a non-surgical catheter procedure, the Stentrode interfaces with the motor cortex through the blood vessels, recording and transmitting neural signals wirelessly to enable hands-free control of digital devices. Stentrode BCIs have been placed in 10 patients with paralysis to date, across clinical trials in the United States and Australia. Synchron has integrated Apple’s BCI-human interface device (BCI-HID), having co-developed a Bluetooth-based iOS protocol that connects brain activity directly to Apple devices using Switch Control, including iPad, iPhone, and Vision Pro — no touch, voice, or eye-tracking required. “We’ve built the first non-surgical brain-computer interface designed for everyday life for people with paralysis,” said Synchron Founder and CEO Tom Oxley. “This funding brings us closer to commercializing the Stentrode BCI platform, while accelerating development of a major breakthrough in the field — a next-generation, transcatheter high-channel whole-brain interface.” An expanding Cognitive AI division in New York, NY will be training models that learn from brain data to decode thought in real time. In parallel, a new San Diego, CA-based engineering hub has been established to build the brain interface. “Synchron is building the first truly scalable, minimally invasive brain-computer interface that can be deployed in everyday healthcare,” said Campbell Murray, MD, co-founder and managing partner at Double Point Ventures. “Its fusion of neurovascular access, breakthrough device engineering, and adaptive AI marks a fundamental step toward restoring digital agency to people with paralysis.” With this series D financing, Synchron said it will accelerate pivotal trials, prepare for commercial launch of the Stentrode BCI system, and continue hiring engineers, neuroscientists, and operators to advance the next generation of brain-computer interfaces.