China’s neurotechnology sector is clearly accelerating. A consortium formed by the Chinese Institute of Brain Research(CIBR) and NeuCyber NeuroTech has announced that it plans to implant its Beinao No.1 brain implant in as many as 13 patients by the end of 2025. The initiative could thus overtake both Elon Musk’s Neuralink and the US-Australian Synchron in terms of scale.
Three patients have already received implants as part of the experimental phase of the semi-invasive chip, which works wirelessly and communicates with external systems. Another ten people are expected to join in the coming months. If plans are successful, Beinao No.1 will become the BCI (brain-computer interface) technology with the highest number of implants in the world.
Currently, the world leader in terms of clinical trials remains Synchron, which has integrated its systems with an AI platform from Nvidia and is running trials on ten patients. In comparison, Neuralink has an implant in three patients. The differences stem not only from the stage of development, but also from the engineering strategies – Neuralink is betting on fully invasive systems placed directly in the brain, while competitors, including NeuCyber, are developing semi-invasive technologies, embedded on the surface of the cortex.
There are upsides to this approach – a lower risk of post-operative complications and less disruption to brain tissue, albeit at the cost of lower signal resolution. China’s Beinao No.1 chip already allows patients with paralysis to control robotic prostheses and send their thoughts to a computer screen. These are tangible functionalities that could find application in neurological rehabilitation, which is attracting the attention of not only the medical community but also investors.
CIBR and NeuCyber are preparing to launch formal clinical trials with 50 patients in 2026. Technological development is set to continue in parallel – work is underway on a more advanced version of the Beinao No.2 chip, a wireless version of which resembles the architecture used by Neuralink and is expected to be tested on humans within 12-18 months.
Although China’s BCIs are not yet commercial products, CIBR makes no secret of the fact that it is in talks with investors. However, it caveats that partners must be ready for a long-term commitment and the development of a market that is only just taking shape. For now, the priority remains helping patients with paralysis, rather than a quick return on investment.
NeuCyber, backed by the state-owned Zhongguancun Development Corporation (more than $1.2 billion in revenue in 2023), has a background not only in research but also in finance. Its lack of ties to the military, its declared transparency and its openness to international cooperation could make Beinao not just a local, but potentially a global project in the BCI segment.
Against the backdrop of global competition for brain-computer interfaces, China is showing that it can not only catch up with, but stay ahead of the competition – at least at the level of patient numbers and deployment rates. This could mean that the race for the future of neurotechnology is no longer just about engineering breakthroughs, but about the determination to turn them into viable clinical trials.
