Chinese brain startup Gestala raises $21M just two months after launch

It’s Elon Musk Neuralink and OpenAI-backed Merge Labs We are making progress with brain-computer technology (BCI) in the US Currently, Chinese entrepreneur Phoenix Peng is developing experiments with two startups: NeuroXess, which produces implantable BCI machines, and a second company, Gestala, which produces BCIs that do not use ultrasound.

Gestala has raised $21.6 million (CN¥150 million) just two months after launching, at a valuation of $100 million to $200 million, founder and CEO Phoenix Peng told TechCrunch.

The round, led by Guosheng Capital and Dalton Venture and Tsing Song Capital, Gobi Ventures, Fourier Intelligence, Liepin and Seas Capital, was oversubscribed, with investor commitments exceeding $58 million, Peng added.

This is the largest initial investment in the Chinese BCI industry. Peng will use the money for R&D, expanding the team from 15 to about 35 employees by the end of the year, and building a manufacturing facility in China. The three-month startup aims to complete its first-generation model by the end of the year.

BCI’s global business is currently experiencing a surge in investment in ultrasound technology. Gestala is the first ultrasound BCI company in China, although it is not the first in the world. Several ultrasound BCI initiatives have emerged in the US in recent years, including Include Labswhich is in the largest category.

Peng believes that ultrasound may represent the next generation of brain-computer technology, providing access to the entire brain and new ways to communicate with the brain.

The inventor says non-invasive ultrasound can overcome one of the biggest barriers to BCI adoption: the risks associated with brain surgery. Compared to conventional electrodes, the technology can monitor a larger area of ​​the brain, including deep neural circuits. Using phased-array ultrasound, the system can also stimulate or suppress neural activity without the need for surgery, he explained.

Despite the rising tensions between the countries, Peng still hopes that the US and China can cooperate in technological research.

“Both countries bring different strengths,” Peng said. “China offers great opportunities for medical research and labor chains, where the US has the highest talent pool in the world. ” Joint efforts may also focus on the development of large medical records to support international neuroscience research, he said.

The company is looking at several applications for its technology. Medically, chronic pain management is the starting point of the program. Chronic pain affects many people in the US and China, and existing studies show that ultrasound stimulation can significantly reduce pain, Peng said.

The start is a review of services in mental health, including depression, PTSD, autism and OCD, as well as stroke rehabilitation. Other long-term targets are Alzheimer’s disease, essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. In total, the company is investigating six to eight indications, although most remain in the early stages of research rather than clinical trials.

Gestala says its advantage over its global competitors comes in speed and scale. By leveraging China’s integrated ecosystem, startups believe they can move from development to production faster than their multinational competitors.

The company is also working with major Chinese hospitals to accelerate clinical trials at much lower costs – about 20% to 33% of similar studies in the US or Europe. At the same time, Gestala is building what it calls the “Ultrasound Brain Bank,” a large clinical database designed to train AI models to recognize brain signals and help diagnose future brain diseases.