Government Strategy Is Shaping the Global Brain-Computer Interface Race
Three events converged this year to turn brain-computer interfaces from a research curiosity into a subject of government strategy. China moved a product to market, having already built the machinery to pay for it. The U.S. funded a founder. The European Union asked its regulators to study a problem. This is not an accident of timing. It reflects fundamentally different beliefs about what a government should do when a new technology can read, and may soon write to, the human brain.
Orion Cortical Implant Finds Yet Another Home Via ClearOne, Cortigent
The Orion visual neuroprosthetic system originally developed by Second Sight Medical Products, which has been passed around among corporate entities more than most any other product we have covered in this publication, now seems headed to another parent firm: Nasdaq-listed company ClearOne.
Funding Outlook for Neurotech Startups Moves to Extremes
Money in medical neurotechnology is pulling toward two poles at once, and the middle appears to be thinning. At one end, a small cluster of platform companies is absorbing financing at a scale the field has never seen. At the other, private capital is moving downstream into the clinics that deliver treatment. What sits between those poles, the broad tail of device companies still building toward first-in-human and clearance, is being asked to get creative or survive while nondilutive funding is harder to predict.
Briefings from Abbott, Mayo Clinic, Ottobock, Nyxoah, More
News from across the neurotech and bioelectronic medicine industries including multiple efforts at vagus nerve stimulation for bleeding, a look at how caffeine impacts taste, nerve stimulation for sleep apnea, and more.
Allen Institute Launches $400M Brain Health Accelerator
The Allen Institute launched its Brain Health accelerator earlier this month, with $400 million in commitments over a 14-year initiative. The program’s initial disease targets are in neurodegeneration: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS, and Lewy body dementia.
Leaders Forum at imec Captures Europe at an Inflection Point
In June, the campus of imec in Leuven, Belgium hosted the second annual Neurotech Leaders Forum at imec, bringing together executives, investors, researchers, and regulators from across Europe and the U.S. for two days of sessions spanning clinical translation, capital formation, regulatory strategy, and the emerging and converging frontiers of neurotechnology.
HGNS Vendors Plan Response to Plunging Stock Valuations
The neuromodulation market for treating obstructive sleep apnea is currently experiencing a transitional rough patch, though its long-term market potential remains robust. Nominally represented by Inspire Medical, Nyxoah, and LivaNova, the market has seen staggered timelines of adoption. Inspire has been commercializing its devices in the U.S. since 2014, whereas Nyxoah entered in 2025, and LivaNova is targeting a full market launch in the second half of 2027.
Lessons From the Strategics
One of the more memorable moments from the Medtech MVP conference was Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha’s advice that medtech firms must think beyond individual devices and toward broader ecosystems. That comment is especially relevant to neuromodulation, where therapies have historically been developed around discrete implantable or wearable devices. In pain, movement disorders, epilepsy, sleep, migraine, and other neurological conditions, the next generation of systems is increasingly likely to depend on patient selection tools, device-generated data, digital workflow support, remote monitoring, and payer-aligned outcome tracking.
Medtech Execs Discuss M&A Activity in Minneapolis
There has been a wealth of acquisitions in the neurotechnology and related medtech industries in recent months. Two of the largest acquirers have been Boston Scientific, which has picked up Axonics, Nalu, and Valencia Technologies, and Medtronic, which acquired SPR Therapeutics for over $600 million last month. Executives from both major strategics offered their insights on the M&A outlook at the recent Medtech MVP conference in Minneapolis.
Entrepreneur Presenters and Panelists Added to European Neurotech Leaders Forum Agenda
Neurotech Reports, the publisher of the Neurotech Business Report newsletter, announced that several panelists and presenters have been added to the agenda for the 2nd annual Neurotech Leaders Forum at imec, which will take place June 23-24 in Leuven, Belgium New speakers include Daniel Chew, a former Galvani executive CEO and co-founder of Artemis Medical, Fabien Sauter from CEA Clinitec, Martin Becker from cpi, Francois Veron from Newfund, and Stephen Hicks from ARIA.