BCI/neurotech — why we’re not backing a fad.
Neurotech Futures recently released the 2024 Neurotech Funding report. I suggest you read the full report (link below). In short, $2.3bn raised across 129 deals in 2024. Suggests 2025 could surmount $4bn in funding.
This level of funding, is a signal of conviction. BUT you could argue this is still a noisy one, especially in a segment where majority of funding has come from Elon’s pockets. So here are four reminders why I believe we’re not backing a fad.
- Software has eaten the world, BCI will reap the benefits. Advancements in processing power + assimilation of software infrastructure = a stronger economic case for neural interfaces. Why? We can extract more value from the same/even less raw data.
When you prime a slingshot, it briefly pulls back before snapping forward. Last two decades was spent building the tools and infrastructure to help BCI quickly leap ahead.
2. Longitudinal data capture. Traditional healthcare relies on episodic clinic visits. Neural interfaces enhance the flow of information not only between physician and patient, but also between physicians. More informed physicians + richer patient narrative = stronger reimbursement case.
3. FDA acceptance. First movers have spent years building relationship w regulatory bodies.
4. The world is getting older. Drugs treat disease, not disability.
That being said — winning aspiration for neural interfaces shouldn’t be to engineer the most precise decoding instrument. Outcompeting each other on technology alone is a losing game. The brain is a remarkable general purpose machine, all it needs is enough raw information. It’ll do the rest. Instead the aspiration should be to elevate the standard of care, by removing the very barriers that stand in the way of it. As Alex Cohen from DCVC writes:
Ultimately the problem is that when a health issue becomes acute, it becomes very expensive to treat it and that expense creates scarcity. So I think the ability to pull in data into the medical industry will create abundance and really democratize access to care. It could actually reduce the cost curve and change our behaviors to make us more healthy, which will improve patient outcomes.
Significantly more capital is making its way into Neurotech, and this is something to celebrate. Those who “win” will provide a) rich and/or unique source of continuous data b) simple implementation c) ease of operation and demonstrate interoperability w existing infrastructure.
