Neurotech Notables #37: August 1-15
The Big News Edition
Happy Friday, Readers.
Your weekend reading list of key neurotech news from the last two weeks:
Altman announces a new BCI company, Merge. Histosonics gets acquired for $2.5b. Setpoint gets key FDA clearance and a $140m round.
New inner speech study. Neuralink enters the UK. Synchron’s Apple HID. Great new market reports. Timely social pieces. More evidence for digital neuroimaging trials.
And the usual smattering of deals, hires, studies, blogs, more. This past two weeks was a blur. Mostly good, but if I missed key news, let me know.
Lots of activity, content, and new opportunities coming up over the next two months, so stay tuned.
Register for Dana Foundation’s 3rd Annual Virtual Career Fair in Neuroscience & Society on Sept 8th. I’ll be chiming in on career questing.
Hit reply: I’m specifically interested in your 2 cents on: Altman’s Merge, BCI R&D costs in 2025, Neurorights, Commercial viability of Speech BCI
If you want to sponsor a neurotech event, exactly right now is a very good time to email me.
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NANS
Get hands-on, expert led training in the NANS 2026 Cadaver Lab Courses, offered for Pain Fellows and Neurosurgery/Neurology Residents & Fellows, January 22 in Las Vegas. Limited Availability. Apply by Sept. 8.
TTP
See how TTP is transforming advances in neuroscience into breakthrough clinical outcomes - Read more
Datwyler
Welcoming Andrea Rich to the SoftPulse electrodes team to lead material development and advanced R&D for next-gen wearable neurotech. Let’s connect
Card79
From Mind to Interface: Card79 on the future of neurotech UX - Listen here
Funding
SetPoint Medical Raises $140 Million in Private Financing and Expands Leadership Team to Support Commercialization of Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy (SetPoint)
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival (Financial Times)
The new venture, called Merge Labs, is raising new funds at a $850mn valuation, with much of the new capital expected to come from OpenAI’s ventures team, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans. Altman has encouraged the investment and will help launch the project alongside Alex Blania, who runs World, an eyeball-scanning digital ID project also backed by the OpenAI chief, said two of the people.Altman will co-found the company but not have a day to day role in the new project, they added.
The company aims to raise $250mn from OpenAI and other investors, although the talks are at an early stage. Altman will not personally invest.
Coverage from Quartz, Futurism, TechCrunch. I’ve heard some things…I’m letting my hot takes cool over the weekend. Inbox and DMs open 👀
NanoVibronix Announces Financing of up to $50 Million Private Placement of Preferred Stock (BusinessWire)
ProSomnus® Announces New Funding, Executive Hire, and Significant Progress on Strategic Programs (Sleepworld)
Real talk: I think oral/dental form factors are more relevant to “neurotech innovation” than the work of most EEG companies out there.
Tim Scannell, Former Stryker President & COO, Named Chair of Longeviti Neuro Solutions Amid $10M Capital Infusion From Soleus Capital (GlobeNewswire)
New DoD Study will Investigate the COSMIIC Implant System for Walking Assistance After Spinal Cord Injury (Cleveland FES)
Mind the Gap: Investing in Dementia as an Opportunity to Extend Healthspan (Milken Institute)
Commercial
HistoSonics Announces $2.25B Acquisition by Consortium of Top-Tier Investors (BusinessWire)
Led by K5 Global, Bezos Expeditions, Wellington Management and other new and existing investors. The transaction values HistoSonics at approximately $2.25 billion and positions the company for accelerated growth across new clinical indications and global markets.
See FUS Foundation’s report below for more context.
Neuralink announces clinical study launch in the UK (LinkedIn)
Inspire Medical stock takes a big hit on slashed guidance, next-gen launch slowdown (MassDevice)
Noctrix Health awarded Phase IIB SBIR grant from NINDS to further develop Tonic Motor Activation (TM) therapy for refractory RLS (LinkedIn)
Reliable Respiratory now a preferred service provider for Noctrix Health, Inc.'s Nidra® therapy for RLS (LinkedIn)
NeuroLight Appoints Dr. Jumaah Goldberg as Chief Strategy Officer to Accelerate Commercialization of Breakthrough Brain State Transfer Technology (NeuroLight)
Lovell Government Services Partners with NeuroCatch to Bring Innovative Neuro-Health Assessment Technology to Federal Healthcare Providers (Lovell)
Wearable Devices Announces Development of Neural Interface for Advanced Military Tactical Systems (Yahoo Finance)
Regulatory
SetPoint Medical Receives FDA Approval for Novel Neuroimmune Modulation Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis (SetPoint Medical)
Nyxoah Receives Approval from FDA for Genio® System for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (Globe Newswire)
Bioventus Receives FDA 510(k) Clearances for two Next-Generation Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Products (Bioventus)
Industry
Precision Neuroscience, founded by Neuralink Alums, is developing an implant that is safer (Business Insider)
Synchron Debuts First Thought-Controlled iPad Experience Using Apple’s New BCI Human Interface Device Protocol (BusinessWire)
China Unveils 2030 Brain-Computer Interface Roadmap (Neuro-Founders)
NeuroPace: Building a Durable Moat in Epilepsy Treatment with AI-Driven Innovation and Expanding Indications (AInvest)
To trial or not to trial before peripheral nerve stimulation for chronic pain? (Editorial & Paper)
What does it feel like to use a brain-computer interface? (Paradromics)
Silicon Synapses: The Bold Frontier of Brain–Computer Integration (IEEE Pulse)
Shiratronics: Addressing Migraine Head On (MedTech Strategist)
Brain Computer Interface Market to Soar from USD 1.6 Billion in 2024 to USD 6.3 Billion by 2033, at 20.5% CAGR (PR Newswire)
Do people actually buy reports like these?
Piramidal: An AI Model for the Brain Is Coming to the ICU (Wired)
Mapping the Brain for Aligment (IFP)
SynchNeuro: Focused on Innovative Solutions for Individuals with Prediabetes (Startup Health)
BrainPatch.AI: How a British neurotech startup constructed a working prototype quick, utilizing Arduino Nano 33 IoT (UnCommunication)
CABHI launches AgeTech Insights to shape the future of aging (Cision Newswire)
AgeTech Insights launched with its first market intelligence report, offering insights into technology use in Canadians aged 50+, shedding light on barriers and enablers, and informing innovators how to apply this intelligence to their work.
DATAcc by DiMe announces the Core Measures of Common Mental Health Disorders project (LinkedIn)
Syntropic Medical receives IRB approval for new home-based light therapy clinical trial (Syntropic)
Openwater’s LIFU Technology at MIT: A New Era for Consciousness and Neurological Care (Neurology Live)
Focused Ultrasound - 2025 State of the Field (FUS Foundation)
Neurotech.TV
IU wins $16m grant for Alzheimer’s ultrasound study (Inside Indiana Business)
Society
How Older People Are Reaping Brain Benefits From New Tech (NYTimes)
More seniors want to age in place. Here’s how technology can help (Globe & Mail)
Overthinking Health (Building H)
They’re Losing Their Vision. They Still Love Playing Tennis. (NYTimes)
Margaret Boden, Philosopher of Artificial Intelligence, Dies at 88 (NYTimes)
Ethical gaps in closed-loop neurotechnology: a scoping review (NPJ Digital Medicine)
Another study that studies studies. Ivory tower cobwebs.
Philosophy of Brain-Computer Interface (OSF Preprints)
This is better. If I win the lottery I’m going to become a semiotician.
Your Meditation App May Soon Have More Legal Protection Than Brain Surgery (Nita Farhany)
Hard agree. I believe neurorights are misguided, disingenous, and counterproductive. Nita’s been on a tear on her Substack. Subscribe:
Research
Inner speech in motor cortex and implications for speech neuroprostheses (Cell | NYTimes | STAT)
Smartwatch data is more sensitive than clinical scores in detecting early Parkinson’s-related brain changes (UKDRI | EBioMedicine)
Evaluating cognitive decline detection in aging populations with single-channel EEG features based on two studies and meta-analysis (Nature)
Imaging the brain by traversing the skull with light and sound (Nature BME)
Silicon nanocolumn-based disposable and flexible ultrasound patches (Nature Communications)
Cleveland Researchers Say Long-Term Exercise Programs May Restore Neural Connections in Parkinson’s Patients (Cleveland FES)
Advancing Prosthetic Hand Capabilities Through Biomimicry and Neural Interfaces (ASNR)
Monolithic three-dimensional neural probes from deterministic rolling of soft electronics (Nature)
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> ProSomnus® Announces New Funding, Executive Hire, and Significant Progress on St rategic Programs (Sleepworld)
> Real talk: I think oral/dental form factors are more relevant to “neurotech innovation” than the work of most EEG companies out there.
How come? In what way does ProSomnus® count as neurotech?