May 1, 2026 | In the 25 years that we have been publishing this newsletter, the majority of our editorial coverage has concerned research and commercial activity in the U.S. That is not entirely a result of the fact that we are based here in the U.S. In the early days of the neurotechnology industry, most of the commercial revenue and most of the significant research was coming from within these shores.
But more recently, we have been impressed with the growth of the European neurotechnology industry, both in terms of new research institutions and new commercial firms in the space. Many of these relatively new investigators and companies were on hand at the recent meeting of the International Neuromodulation Society in Lisbon, Portugal earlier this month. And we’re pleased to report that several emerging European neurotech firms will be speaking or presenting at our Second Annual European Neurotech Leaders Forum on June 23-24 at imec headquarters in Leuven, Belgium.
Among the promising firms that will be on hand are Phosphoenix Ltd., a Dutch startup pursuing visual neuroprosthetics, and Stimalia, a Belgian firm developing a percutaneous implant targeting the stellate ganglion to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Two interesting British startups that will be in Leuven are Artemis Medical, a femtech firm founded by former Galvani Bioelectronics executive Daniel Chew, and SONA, which is developing an AI-powered vagus nerve stimulator.
As we report in this issue, several prominent European research institutions have formed an alliance called NeurotechEU. This group is likely to leave its mark on the European neurotech industry for years to come, not only to grow scientific findings, but also to promote ethical leadership. One European academic, Miguel Ángel Elizalde from the University of Catalonia, has written about the intersection of AI and neurotechnology. His study, which has been published in open access, examines emerging ethical concerns and warns of potential human rights violations in the fields of mental privacy, freedom of thought and individual autonomy. The researcher also examined whether the current legal framework in the EU is adequate or new specific rights will have to be established to address a type of technology that could eventually influence people’s mental processes.
The European AI Act addresses some of these scenarios by banning systems designed to manipulate behavior through subliminal techniques or deception. However, this regulation could stand in the way of research and development in Europe, shifting innovation towards regions with more permissive legal frameworks.
We expect that many of these issues will be topics of discussion at our meeting in Belgium. We hope to see many of our European readers and colleagues in Leuven on June 23-24.
