Dalton Venture Backs Invasive BCI, Active Technologies' 330 Million Yuan Angel Round Sets New Domestic Record for Brain-Computer Interface Funding | Dalton News

Background

On August 3, Shanghai Initiative Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Initiative Technology") announced the completion of a 330 million RMB angel funding round, setting a new record for angel-round financing in China's brain-computer interface (BCI) sector. This round was led by CASSTAR, with co-investment from Dalton Venture, Legend Star, Unity Ventures, Inno Angel Fund, BGI Songhe Biotech Fund, LYFE Capital, and Jiadao Capital. The proceeds will be primarily used for facility expansion, equipment upgrades, clinical trial advancement, and team growth — comprehensively accelerating the clinical translation and industrialization of invasive BCI products.

Drawing on engineering experience and academic foundations in hardware system R&D, neural signal encoding and decoding algorithms, and animal validation, Initiative Technology has developed full-stack independent R&D capabilities spanning flexible electrodes, dedicated chips, decoding algorithms, and system integration. The company is committed to advancing clinical applications in motor, visual, and emotional brain-computer interfaces.

Founded in February 2026, Initiative Technology is a cutting-edge platform company focused on invasive BCI technology development and commercialization. It has already established a 2,500 square meter facility combining office space and GMP workshops, and has entered a stable R&D and production phase. By the end of 2026, it expects to complete a new headquarters exceeding 10,000 square meters that includes a micro-nano processing platform, with a team of over 100 members.

Brain-Computer Interfaces Enter a Golden Development Period

Brain-computer interfaces are one of six future industries explicitly identified in China's 15th Five-Year Plan, alongside quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen and nuclear fusion energy, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communications — representing a core direction for national strategic forward planning.

In July 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other ministries jointly issued the Implementation Opinions on Promoting Innovation and Development of the Brain-Computer Interface Industry, which set targets for breakthroughs in key BCI technologies by 2027, with preliminary establishment of advanced technology, industrial, and standard systems.

By 2030, the goal is to cultivate two to three globally influential leading enterprises and a cohort of specialized and innovative SMEs.

Currently, competition in the BCI industry is shifting from single-point technological breakthroughs toward a contest of full-stack systems engineering capabilities and clinical translation speed. Teams that combine autonomous control over core underlying components with support from national-level research platforms have become critical variables in the global BCI competitive landscape — and Initiative Technology stands as a representative innovative enterprise in this regard.

Initiative Technology's core technical team is led by three PhDs: Jia Jing, Bin Zhao, and Yiguo Liang. Meanwhile, CEO Guojia Wu has extensive experience in the development, production, and commercialization of Class III medical devices, bringing substantial industrialization expertise.

Initiative Technology Core Team Members

The company's SAB (Science Advisory Board) brings together top scientists in neuroscience, flexible electrodes, software and algorithms, wireless power transfer, and optogenetic brain-computer interfaces, providing sustained support for technological innovation.

This combination of "scientist team + professional management team + top-tier scientific advisory board" gives Initiative Technology the systematic capability to continuously translate frontier innovations into reliable clinical products.

Advancing on Three Fronts: Motor, Visual, and Emotional

Initiative Technology has established a three-product matrix covering motor, visual, and emotional brain-computer interfaces, making it the domestic invasive BCI company with the most comprehensive product line coverage.

Among these, the motor BCI "Tianshu" targets patients with motor and speech dysfunction caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), and other conditions — aiming to help paralyzed patients achieve motor function restoration.

In November 2025, Initiative Technology's core team obtained China's first type-test report for a 1,024-channel invasive BCI system — making "Tianshu" the first 1,024-channel invasive BCI system in China to pass type testing, with channel count comparable to Neuralink's current products.

"Higher channel count means greater brain signal throughput and more refined information decoding capability, laying an autonomously controllable hardware foundation for high-bandwidth human-machine interaction," Guojia Wu told VBData.

He noted that "Tianshu" is now preparing to launch clinical trials with its 1,024-channel system, and the company is positioned to become the first domestic enterprise to conduct clinical trials of a 1,024-channel invasive BCI.

Looking further ahead, while maintaining focus on serious Class III medical devices to benefit patients, Initiative Technology will also lay out plans in artificial intelligence, embodied intelligence, and other emerging industries that naturally integrate with BCI as upstream and downstream sectors — enabling broader user benefits.

Research and Capital Jointly Explore the Long Road to Industrialization

The industrialization of brain-computer interfaces is a long-distance race spanning research, engineering, and clinical application. As Initiative Technology completes this funding round, voices from the scientific and investment communities share their assessments of industry trends and expectations for the company's future development.

Chengyu Li, Senior Researcher in Brain-Computer Interfaces at Lingang Laboratory and Chief Advisor of Initiative Technology's SAB, stated: "Brain-computer interfaces are one of the six future industries in the national 15th Five-Year Plan, with pronounced hard-tech attributes. Invasive BCIs address critical medical needs for severe conditions, providing sufficient signal precision for spinal cord injury, ALS, and other patients. Lingang Laboratory has achieved a series of breakthroughs in invasive BCI materials, electrodes, chips, algorithms, and system hardware and software. I am pleased to see Initiative Technology building on laboratory achievements to continue advancing in flexible electrodes, chips, and algorithms — its 1,024-channel high-throughput fully-implanted system performance is quite leading. Drawing on the laboratory's accumulated expertise across motor, visual, and emotional domains, Initiative Technology integrates three product lines, covering major clinical directions with a unique industrial position. The industry urgently needs pilot testing platforms and shared datasets; Lingang Laboratory is constructing a one-stop R&D testing platform and looks forward to collaborating with Initiative Technology and other BCI enterprises to accelerate China's BCI industrialization process."

Regarding this investment, Dalton Venture stated: Brain-computer interfaces, as a 15th Five-Year Plan future industry, are at the inflection point from laboratory technology to industrialization. Initiative Technology leverages the national strategic research institution — Lingang Laboratory — with leadership from a National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars professor, building a comprehensive talent pipeline combining industry experts and young scientists. The company pursues full-stack technological breakthroughs, with its self-developed "Tianshu" as the first 1,024-channel invasive BCI system in China to pass type testing, laying an autonomously controllable foundation for refined brain signal acquisition and decoding.

As an investment institution focused on life sciences and medical technology, we are firmly optimistic about the company's team and market position, and are honored to participate in completing the company's first funding round. Going forward, we will coordinate ecosystem resources to accompany Initiative Technology's growth, expecting the company to lead BCI industry development and drive paradigm transformation at the intersection of life health and frontier technology.

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ID: daltonventure

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