US-based Subsense has emerged from stealth mode with $17m in seed financing as the company aims to develop a new type of brain-computer interface (BCI).
The company’s non-surgical BCI uses nanoparticles to provide precise monitoring and targeted neural stimulation.
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The system is being developed alongside research partners, including UC Santa Cruz and Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology, with Subsense currently working on the development of therapeutics for patients with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and epilepsy.
Co-founded by entrepreneurs Tetiana Aleksandrova and Artem Sokolov, Subsense’s seed funding round was led by Sokolov’s Golden Falcon Capital.
According to Ali A Yanik, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UC Santa Cruz, taking a system-on-a-nanoparticle approach to BCIs could “greatly enhance” the precision of neural communication.
Subsense CEO Tetiana Aleksandrova commented: “Brain-computer interfacing promises to unlock limitless human potential, but innovation has been held back by a lack of effective non-surgical approaches.
“By delivering nanoparticles that bind with receptors in the brain, Subsense can achieve more extensive connectivity with a far gentler approach.”
Subsense said it intends to expand its BCI for targeting further applications at a later stage, including for sensorimotor recovery of vision, mental health regulation, inner speech decoding and thought translation, and integration with AI by merging brain and artificial neural networks.
BCI systems have generated interest since Neuralink implanted the first patient with its BCI in January 2024 after receiving an investigational device exemption (IDE) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company, which is owned by businessman Elon Musk, has since outlined plans to launch a feasibility trial for the implant coupled with a robotic arm.
Other companies developing BCI systems include ONWARD Medical with a BCI for spinal cord injury treatment, and Motif Neurotech, which recently won a funding grant from the UK Government’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) to advance the development of its BCI for cognitive and psychiatric conditions.
