Brain-Computer Interfaces: How to Crack the Commercialization Puzzle? | Hard Tech Salon Now Open for Registration

How to free the mind—or even make it immortal—is an enduring human pursuit, and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are opening new possibilities. As the technology matures, when will the BCI industry truly take off? What variables will it introduce to the biotech sector? BlueRun Ventures, which has been closely tracking frontier technologies, has been weighing these questions.

On October 22 (this Saturday), the New Brain Forum, co-hosted by Neureality and Guokr Hard Tech with BlueRun Ventures as co-organizer, will convene online. Bixi Bie, investment vice president at BlueRun Ventures, will join three academic experts—Xiaojian Li, professor and doctoral advisor at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Baoliang Lv, second-tier professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University; and Weihua Pei, researcher at the Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences—to discuss the future of BCIs.

In 2001, MIT Technology Review named BCI technology one of ten emerging technologies that would change the world. Twenty years later, we have already witnessed successful BCI implants in pigs, monkeys, and humans, and received the first-ever "mind-written" message from a human brain. With the current metaverse wave, BCIs are gaining traction as the hardware gateway to metaverse experiences.

In 2020, the global BCI market reached $1.46 billion; it is projected to hit $3.6 billion by 2027, representing a CAGR of roughly 14%. On the funding side, BCI startups raised just $97 million in 2020, but that surged to $468 million in 2021—a 482% year-over-year increase. This year, in the first quarter alone, global medical-plus-BCI funding reached $210 million, with China accounting for $95.42 million. The industry's growth trajectory is outpacing expectations.

Yet the BCI sector as a whole remains in its infancy, with enormous room for expansion. Looking at domestic BCI financing rounds, companies are predominantly early-stage: 81% are at Series A or earlier. In terms of applications, medical devices dominate at 62%. But BCIs' potential extends far beyond this. The New Brain Forum invites you to explore with our speakers what applications already exist and what opportunities lie ahead—beyond intersections with the metaverse and AI, what further possibilities can BCIs unlock?

See the detailed agenda below.

To attend, scan the QR code in the image or reserve a spot via WeChat Channels livestream.

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Further Reading

BlueRun in September | Embracing All Streams Makes the River Great

BlueRun Ventures' Wei Cao: Tesla's Humanoid Optimus Is No New Concept; the Robotics Track's Reach Is Far Greater Than Imagined

BlueRun Ventures' Jui Chan: Investment Pace Won't Slow This Year; Capital Will Concentrate in Winning Projects

BlueRun Ventures: The Golden Age of Tech Investment Has Arrived; Be a Calm First-Mover Amid Era-Defining Change and Industrial Innovation

BlueRun Ventures was founded in Silicon Valley in 1998. BlueRun Ventures China was established in 2005 and focuses on early-stage startups.

The firm currently manages multiple USD and RMB dual-currency funds in China with over RMB 15 billion in assets under management, making it one of the largest early-stage funds domestically. It invests primarily at Pre-A and Series A across hard tech and novel interaction, enterprise technology, new consumer, and healthcare, with more than 150 portfolio companies including Li Auto, Waterdrop, QingCloud, Guazi.com, Qudian, Songuo Mobility, Ganji.com, Energy Monster, Yuntu Semiconductor, Machenike, CloudSaints, Anxin Wangdun, and BioMap.

BlueRun Ventures has been ranked #1 on Zero2IPO's "China Top 30 Early-Stage Investment Institutions," #1 on ChinaVenture's "China Best Early-Stage Venture Capital Firms TOP30," and named a Preqin Top 10 globally consistent high-return VC fund manager.

The firm has also received consecutive honors from Forbes China, 36Kr, Cyzone, Caixin Media, CBNweekly, Jiemian, and other outlets as "China Early-Stage Firm of the Year," "China Top-Tier VC," "Most Entrepreneur-Friendly Early-Stage Firm," and "Most Influential Early-Stage Firm."