Brain-computer interfaces are at a critical turning point, transitioning from &#34;scientific experiments&#34; to &#34;commercialization.&#34; Neuralink, owned by Elon Musk, announced that it will start large-scale production in 2026, and this clear timeline has directly ignited market expectations. Meanwhile, China is accelerating its catch-up in both policy (the 14th Five-Year Plan, medical insurance coding) and technology (breakthroughs in clinical trials).
According to a report by The Paper on Tuesday, the recent financing of approximately 2 billion yuan by the brain-computer interface &#34;unicorn&#34; Qiangnao Technology marks the second largest financing in the world in this field, aside from Neuralink. Investors include top institutions such as IDG and Huaden International, indicating that primary market funds are making significant investments.
Guotai Junan Securities believes that this is an incremental market from 0 to 1. In the short term, market sentiment is driven by expectations of Neuralink's mass production and favorable domestic policies, which have high explosive potential; in the medium to long term, the competitive landscape will differentiate— invasive approaches focus on technological barriers (electrodes, chips), while non-invasive approaches focus on commercialization (channels, algorithms). Investors should pay close attention to leading companies with core technological moats (such as self-developed chips and flexible electrodes) and those that can achieve a commercial closed loop first (such as rehabilitation medical care and consumer electronics).
<h2>Technical Route Showdown: Invasive vs. Non-invasive</h2>
The team led by Chen Xibing at Guotai Junan Securities points out that the core of brain-computer interfaces lies in the communication link between brain electrical activity and external devices. Depending on the implantation method, they are currently mainly divided into three technical routes: invasive, semi-invasive, and non-invasive, each with significant differences in signal quality, safety, and commercialization cycles.
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Invasive (Neuralink route): Electrodes penetrate brain tissue through surgery, achieving the highest spatial and temporal resolution and bandwidth, suitable for complex scenarios such as brain-controlled prosthetics and visual reconstruction.
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Cost: Requires craniotomy for implantation, but the R&amp;D cycle lasts 5 to 8 years, with single clinical costs reaching hundreds of thousands of yuan.
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Technical barriers: Extremely high. The core lies in the long-term stability, biocompatibility of flexible electrodes, and high-throughput chips.
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Current status: The U.S. is 2-5 years ahead. Domestic companies like Jieti Medical and Brain Tiger Technology are catching up and have completed their first clinical trials.
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Non-invasive (consumer-grade route): Signals are collected through scalp or surface sensors.
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Characteristics: No surgery required, safe and low-cost, but with significant signal attenuation.
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Technical barriers: Algorithms and data. Massive data is needed to train algorithms to solve signal noise issues.
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Current status: China and the U.S. are basically on par. Domestic companies like Qiangnao Technology and Boruikang have already launched products in rehabilitation and sleep monitoring.
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Semi-invasive/interventional: Electrodes are placed inside the skull but do not penetrate brain tissue
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<li>Features: The signal quality is better than non-invasive methods, and the trauma is less than invasive methods, but it still belongs to Class III medical devices and requires craniotomy. The interventional technology laid out by Xinwei Medical is implanted through blood vessels, eliminating the need for craniotomy.</li>
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<h2>Comparison of Progress between China and the U.S.</h2>
From the perspective of the global competitive landscape, there are significant structural differences between China and the U.S. in the field of brain-computer interfaces: the U.S. still leads invasive products by 2-5 years, while both countries are essentially on par in non-invasive products.
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According to Guosen Securities analysis, the U.S. is in an absolute leading position in the invasive brain-computer interface field, ahead of China by about 2 to 5 years. U.S. companies represented by Neuralink have taken the lead in flexible electrode technology and possess a complete domestic supply chain for chips, electrodes, and batteries. Neuralink has completed 12 invasive clinical cases and plans to launch the Blindsight project for the blind in 2026.
In contrast, China still partially relies on imports for key components (such as chips and sensors) in the invasive field, but the gap is narrowing. The domestic advantage lies in the non-invasive field, where both China and the U.S. are essentially at the same starting line.
Additionally, China has a vast clinical resource and data potential, with unprecedented policy support. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments have included brain-computer interfaces in the national strategic emerging industries, and in 2025, the National Healthcare Security Administration will introduce independent charging standards (e.g., invasive implantation fee of about 6,600 yuan per instance). The National Medical Products Administration has also released industry standards, paving the way for industrialization.
<h2>Domestic Progress: Accelerated Clinical Breakthroughs and Emergence of Unicorn Companies</h2>
Despite the technological gap, domestic companies have made substantial progress across various technological paths and are accelerating to catch up with international pace.
In the invasive and semi-invasive fields, domestic companies are intensively conducting clinical trials. According to Guosen Securities, Jieti Medical has collaborated with Huashan Hospital to complete the first prospective clinical trial of an invasive brain-computer interface system in China, allowing subjects to control a mouse through thought; Brain Tiger Technology has also completed the first clinical trial of real-time synthesis of Chinese using high-throughput flexible brain-computer interfaces. Boruikang's semi-invasive product NEO is expected to obtain the world's first Class III medical device certification in the first half of 2026. Additionally, Xinwei Medical is collaborating with Nankai University to lay out interventional technology, planning to complete the first human implantation by the end of 2026.
In the non-invasive field, the commercialization process is more mature. According to The Paper, the brain-computer interface &#34;unicorn&#34; Qiangnao Technology (BrainCo) recently completed financing of about 2 billion yuan, with investors including IDG and Huaden International. As one of the &#34;Six Little Dragons of Hangzhou,&#34; Qiangnao Technology has obtained FDA and CE certification in the U.S. and Europe, making it one of the few companies globally to achieve large-scale production of brain-computer interface products, with offerings including brain-controlled bionic hands and sleep devices
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At the level of listed companies, Sanbo Neuroscience participated in the world's first interventional brain-machine interface-assisted rehabilitation trial for human limb motor function recovery; CTN launched a biofeedback system aimed at the education sector; Xiangyu Medical and VISHEE are actively laying out brain-machine interface products in the rehabilitation equipment field, with multiple prototypes already released or under research.
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Institutional analysis suggests that with the realization of Neuralink's mass production expectations and breakthroughs in domestic clinical trials, the brain-machine interface industry is ushering in a moment of &#34;resonance between technology and commercialization.&#34; Future investment opportunities will focus on leading companies with core technological barriers, as well as targets that achieve a commercial closed loop in scenarios such as rehabilitation medicine and industrial control

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Guosen Securities believes that there are significant structural differences between China and the United States in the field of brain-computer interfaces: the U.S. still leads invasive products by 2-5 years, while both countries are basically on par with non-invasive products. Several invasive/semi-invasive clinical trials in China have made milestone progress, and non-invasive products have achieved mass production and overseas certification. The main focus is on two types of targets: leading companies with core technology moats (chips, flexible electrodes, algorithms) and those that have first established a commercial closed loop (rehabilitation medical, consumer electronics)

What is the progress of domestic brain-computer interfaces as overseas prepares for mass production?