How Precision Neuroscience Is Rewiring the Future of Brain Interfaces
- Dominic Borkelmans
- Jul 9
- 4 min read
Imagine reconnecting the brain after a debilitating stroke by simply inserting a tiny, reversible microchip. While most of the world has its eyes glued to the brain chip developed by Neuralink, struggling to tune out the grandiose proclamations of its braggadocious leader, there is another startup making quiet but meaningful progress toward the same goal. Precision Neuroscience has just received a $100 million check and FDA approval to develop what could become the first widely used brain-computer interface.
Unlike its high-profile competitors, Precision is taking a radically different approach: prioritising safety, simplicity, and clinical realism over sci-fi ambitions. Their flagship device, the Layer 7 Cortical Interface, isn’t inserted deep in the brain but instead rests gently on its surface, collecting high-resolution data without penetrating tissue. It’s designed to be implanted in under 30 minutes and removed just as easily.
Precision’s Next-Gen Brain Interface
Millions of people suffer from what is essentially a disconnect within the brain. After a neurological event like a stroke, paralysis, ALS, or spinal cord injury, they may lose the ability to speak, move, or interact with the world, while their cognitive function remains fully intact. This creates a “locked-in” state, where the mind is active but unable to communicate. Up until just a few years ago, there was little hope for these patients of a meaningful recovery in function.
Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) aim to bridge that gap by decoding brain signals into digital outputs, such as moving cursors or selecting words on a computer. Most people are now familiar with the video of Neuralink’s chip allowing a patient with a spinal cord injury to play a game “using his mind.” But while impressive, most BCI systems currently in development, including Neuralink, require invasive brain surgery and permanent implants. That level of invasiveness brings high surgical and regulatory hurdles and can scare patients.
In the Neurofounder Spotlight series, we focus on neuroscience startups translating cutting-edge research into real-world solutions. Each article examines the problem they've identified, their proposed solution, the founding team, where they stand now, and why it all matters. Neuroscience is an extraordinarily broad field, generating a wide range of startups, from scientists connecting the brain to prosthetic limbs, to pioneers of brain–computer interfaces, to innovators treating some of the most debilitating brain disorders.
Precision Neuroscience takes a more focused, minimally invasive approach to the same goal. Their flagship device, the Layer 7 Cortical Interface, is a flexible, ultra-thin microelectrode array designed to rest on the brain’s surface without penetrating it. It captures high-resolution neural signals, enabling functions like motor intention decoding and speech mapping. Unlike existing BCIs, it can be inserted through a tiny slit in the skull and is designed to be both minimally invasive and fully reversible.
In the short term, the chip is being used to assist surgeons in identifying motor and speech areas during tumour and epilepsy surgeries. It also allows Precision to build datasets from real patients to train algorithms for speech, movement, and cognitive intent recognition. Looking ahead, the company envisions assistive communication use cases for paralysed and locked-in patients. Their future systems will be designed for long-term use and could bridge patients with digital tools to restore lost functions.
The Team and Milestones
Precision Neuroscience was founded in 2021 by neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Rapoport (a co-founder of Neuralink), CEO Michael Mager, and Drs. Demetrios Papageorgiou and Mark Hettick. Based in New York City, they launched the company with a mission to develop a minimally invasive, reversible BCI that helps neurological patients, such as those with paralysis, stroke, or ALS, regain digital communication and autonomy. As per Rapoport, “We’re really trying to engineer a world in which these devices are part of the clinical standard of care five years from now, that is going to change medicine. I have no doubt that’s going to change clinical neuroscience.”
Within just a few years, they’ve secured substantial funding to bring their vision to life. Their most recent round, a Series C in December last year, raised $104 million, led by General Equity Holdings. This brings their total funding to approximately $155 million. That capital has already yielded results: the company received FDA clearance for its minimally invasive cortical electrode array and has since received further FDA 510(k) approval for clinical use in surgical brain mapping with implants lasting up to 30 days. To date, over 37 patients have participated in Precision’s clinical trials.
Next, Precision plans to expand trials and validate use cases beyond surgical mapping. In the coming months, they aim to enrol patients with paralysis and stroke-related impairments to test the Layer 7 system’s ability to decode motor intent and speech-related brain activity. These studies will support the development of neural decoding algorithms for communication interfaces, cursor control, and smart device operation. In parallel, the team is developing a wireless, chronically implantable version of the device, with long-term clinical trials targeted for 2026.
Why It Matters
From a neuroscience perspective, Precision’s work represents a major step forward in how we approach the long-standing dream of brain-computer integration. By designing a high-resolution interface that doesn’t penetrate brain tissue, they are opening the door to studying neural activity in a way that is safer, repeatable, and ethically scalable. This could dramatically accelerate our understanding of how complex behaviours like speech, movement, and intention are encoded, laying the groundwork not only for better assistive tech but also for deepening our insights into cognition, disease, and recovery.
"We're really trying to engineer a world in which these devices are part of the clinical standard of care"
From a business perspective, Precision is betting that safer, simpler, and clinically grounded technology will ultimately win. While competitors like Neuralink pursue bold, long-term sci-fi ambitions, Precision is carving out a credible, science-backed path to clinical deployment. With a cleared medical device, substantial funding, and a regulatory-first strategy, they may have a first-mover advantage in a notoriously difficult field. If they succeed, they won’t just build a product, they could define how all neurotechnology moves from the lab into real-world healthcare systems.
Conclusion
While the public imagination around brain-computer interfaces is often dominated by flashy demos and headline-grabbing visionaries, Precision Neuroscience is quietly building something far more pragmatic and potentially more impactful. Their work marks a turning point in neurotech: from hype to health. If they succeed, they won’t just help patients reconnect with the world, they’ll redefine what’s possible in the brain-machine era.
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