Gestalt Tech Closes 150 Million Yuan Angel Round, Dalton Venture Co-Leads | Dalton News
Sets New Record for Largest Angel Round in China's Brain-Computer Interface Space
Background
Gestala, China's first hard-tech company focused on ultrasonic brain-computer interfaces (BCI), has announced a 150 million yuan angel round — the largest ever in China's BCI sector. Dalton Venture co-led the round, with several well-known investment institutions and corporations participating. Gestala was co-founded by Lei Peng and Chen Tianqiao, founder of Shanda Group and the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute.
The global BCI industry is currently experiencing an investment boom in the "ultrasonic track." OpenAI founder Sam Altman personally entered the space by co-founding Merge Labs, an ultrasonic BCI company that completed a $252 million angel round in January 2026 at an $850 million post-money valuation, with OpenAI as the largest investor. Additionally, Nudge, co-founded by Coinbase's founder, secured a substantial Series A round in 2025.
Gestala was officially established on January 1 of this year by Lei Peng and Chen Tianqiao. Just two months after its public launch, it has completed an oversubscribed 150 million yuan angel round — setting a new record for China's BCI sector and ranking second globally only to Merge Labs. Lei Peng, Gestala's founder and CEO, expressed strong confidence in leading the company to become a banner for China in global hard-tech competition and achieving "lane-changing parity" in the frontier ultrasonic BCI track.
Compared to traditional invasive electrical approaches, ultrasonic technology offers non-invasive access, whole-brain "read-write" capabilities, and multi-target neural circuit modulation. Its addressable indications — including chronic pain, depression, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke rehabilitation, and epilepsy — align more closely with clinical needs, cover broader patient populations, and represent significantly larger market opportunities.
Gestala is prioritizing medical applications. In Q2 this year, it will complete Phase I of its Chengdu headquarters and its first production line. Its first-generation product will target chronic pain management, with over 30 clinical trials already validating efficacy: a single stimulation session reduces pain scale scores by 50%, with effects lasting 1-2 weeks. The company expects to begin production in Q3, initiate NMPA (National Medical Products Administration) registration by year-end, and complete regulatory approval within 1-2 years to rapidly achieve revenue closure. Meanwhile, Gestala has established cooperation frameworks with top-tier hospitals including Huashan, West China, and Peking Union Medical College Hospital to conduct multi-center clinical studies across different indications.
Lei Peng stated that the raised capital will focus on R&D for the company's first product and early-stage clinical trials, concentrating on core technology breakthroughs, clinical registration advancement, AI integration, and frontier technology positioning to build sustainable competitive advantages and a solid foundation for future growth. Guided by its vision of "Better Brain for Better Humanity," Gestala is committed to building an ultrasonic-based BCI platform with whole-brain read-write capabilities — not only providing innovative treatments for various neurological disorders but also decoding the brain to explore the future convergence of neuroscience and artificial intelligence.
The successful completion of this angel round reflects both capital markets' strong recognition of Gestala's technological leadership, clinical execution capability, and long-term value, and confirms the global momentum and strategic prospects of the ultrasonic BCI track. All participating investors and industry partners hold high expectations for the company's development.
As co-lead investor and one of the earliest institutional backers, Dalton Venture remains firmly bullish on the ultrasonic BCI technical approach, viewing it as another highly promising direction beyond electrical BCIs — distinguished by non-invasive access, whole-brain read-write capability, and high spatiotemporal resolution. Dalton expects this approach to achieve breakthroughs in healthcare first, while ultimately pointing toward the convergence of carbon-based and silicon-based intelligence. Gestala possesses deep technical expertise and solid, efficient translation-to-market capabilities. Dalton is confident in its long-term value and looks forward to partnering with the Gestala team to drive the realization of a new generation of BCI interaction paradigms.
ID: daltonventure
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