New Enterprise Associates is a prominent venture capital firm focusing on investments in technology and healthcare startups. They help entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors, and geographies. With over $19 billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm’s founding in 1977, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from the seed stage through the IPO. The firm's long track record of successful investing includes more than 210 portfolio company IPOs and more than 360 acquisitions.

New Enterprise Associates

8VC seeks to enable industry transformation. In a wave of creative destruction, they believe emerging platforms will replace the decades-old technology infrastructure behind many industries, promoting greater innovation and prosperity.

AIX Ventures is an AI-focused venture firm

AIX Ventures

TriplePoint Capital offers leases and loans to finance companies' equipment or growth-capital needs. The company offers debt-financing products, including equipment leases, equipment loans, and growth capital loans. The company's equipment leases and equipment loans are used to finance equipments, such as computers and servers, electronic test and measurement equipment, telecommunications equipment, laboratory equipment, office furniture, and software.

TriplePoint Capital

Neo is a mentorship community and VC fund that brings together a diverse group of tech veterans to accelerate tomorrow's leaders.

MVP Ventures was founded in 2020 with the realization that a rethought model for venture investing could unlock significantly greater returns. With the help of its proprietary data-driven sourcing engine and value-add focus, the firm invests as the 2nd-largest check into early-stage deep tech teams building differentiated and defensible technology across software and hardware — with no ownership restrictions.

MVP Ventures

Wispr AI

Wispr is reinventing personal computing for an AI-first world with neural interfaces. The company’s human-centered approach lets users interact with technology in a more natural way.

Wispr AI is a neurotechnology company developing a new way to interact with technology using deliberate thoughts. Their core innovation lies in capturing deliberate intentions from the body's biosignals, such as electrical signals sent to muscles, even when there is no physical movement. This allows users to interface with devices like smartwatches, VR headsets, and AR glasses seamlessly, without relying on traditional input methods like keyboards or voice commands.

Announcing Wispr’s $4.6M Seed Round

Press Release — Wispr AI Secures $4.6M from NEA and 8VC to Build Thought-Powered Neural Interface

Wispr Raises Another $10M to Build a More Natural Way to Interact with Technology

Wispr AI — You'll here whispers about it soon

You'll here whispers about it soon is on AppRater

Wispr

Bridging the gap between the human brain and computer

Brain-computer Interfaces

Julia Trabulsi on LinkedIn: Wispr AI - Head of Data Operations -- Neurotech

Wispr AI is a neurotechnology company developing a new way to interact with technology using deliberate thoughts. Their core innovation lies in capturing deliberate intentions from the body's biosignals, such as electrical signals sent to muscles, even when there is no physical movement. This allows users to interface with devices like smartwatches, VR headsets, and AR glasses seamlessly, without relying on traditional input methods like keyboards or voice commands.
Wispr's approach utilizes wearable sensors like electromyography (EMG) to detect these biosignals, similar to how an electrocardiogram (EKG) works. By leveraging advancements in deep learning, neuroscience, and electrical interfaces, the company aims to create a non-invasive neural interface that enables natural and private interactions with digital experiences.

Neuralink is a neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk with the goal of developing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). The company's flagship product is the N1 Implant, a coin-sized device that is surgically implanted in the brain. The implant contains 1,024 electrodes distributed across 64 ultra-thin threads that can monitor neural activity and electrically stimulate the brain. It wirelessly transmits brain data to external devices, allowing users to control computers or mobile devices directly with their thoughts.
Neuralink's initial focus is on providing digital freedom for people with quadriplegia by enabling them to interact with technology using neural signals. The N1 Implant will be placed in the motor cortex region of the brain that controls movement intention. As of March 2024, Neuralink has implanted its device in at least one human participant, allowing them to control a computer mouse cursor and play video games purely by thinking.
The implant surgery is performed using a custom robotic system developed by Neuralink. This surgical robot automatically inserts the electrode threads into the desired brain region with high precision. Neuralink claims the robotic implantation process aims to be as minimally invasive as procedures like LASIK eye surgery.
Key customers and partnerships
In November 2023, Neuralink announced its first clinical trial, dubbed the "Prime Study," to evaluate the N1 Implant's safety and functionality in human participants with quadriplegia caused by cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The study is expected to enroll participants aged 22 and older over a period of six years.
Neuralink has previously collaborated with the University of California, Davis to conduct animal testing of its brain implants on monkeys and other research animals. However, this partnership ended in 2020 amid allegations from an animal rights group regarding the treatment of monkeys during experiments.

Neuralink

Kernel is a neurotechnology company developing non-invasive brain imaging devices. Their flagship product, Kernel Flow, is a wearable headset that uses time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy (TD-fNIRS) technology to measure brain activity. Kernel Flow emits near-infrared light and detects changes in blood oxygenation levels in the brain's cortical areas, similar to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, it offers advantages such as portability, affordability, and the ability to measure brain activity in natural environments.
Kernel Flow features 52 modules arranged in four plates that fit on either side of the head. Each module contains two laser sources that generate picosecond pulses of light and six detectors that capture the reflected light. By recording the photon arrival times, the system can measure changes in oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations, providing insights into brain function.
Kernel has conducted studies demonstrating the efficacy of Kernel Flow in various applications, including measuring the psychedelic effects of ketamine, predicting gaming expertise, and assessing cognitive decline. As of January 2022, the company had provided 50 systems to partners for evaluation and launched commercial sales for research teams.

Kernel

Synchron is a neurotechnology company developing an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) system designed to enable patients with severe paralysis to wirelessly control digital devices through their thoughts and improve functional independence. Their flagship technology, the Stentrode, is an endovascular brain implant that is inserted into the brain's motor cortex via the jugular vein using a minimally invasive endovascular procedure, eliminating the need for open brain surgery.
The Stentrode contains electrodes that detect motor intent signals from the brain, which are wirelessly transmitted to an external device. Using machine learning algorithms and signal processing techniques, these neural signals are then translated into digital commands, allowing the user to control personal devices like computers and smartphones for tasks such as texting, emailing, online shopping, and accessing telehealth services.
In August 2020, Synchron received FDA Breakthrough Device designation, followed by the first Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) in July 2021 for evaluating a permanently implanted BCI. The company has conducted clinical trials in Australia and the US, with the first US implantation occurring in July 2022 at Mount Sinai Health System in New York. As of January 2023, Synchron reported that the Stentrode remained safe and functional in four Australian patients after 12 months, with no serious adverse events or significant signal deterioration.

Synchron

Paradromics is an Austin, Texas-based neurotechnology company developing a high data-rate brain-computer interface (BCI) called the Connexus Direct Data Interface (DDI). The Connexus DDI is designed to collect an unprecedented number of individual neural signals from the brain using a fully implantable device intended for long-term daily use.
The first application of the Connexus DDI is an assistive communication device that translates brain signals into speech and movement in real-time. This revolutionary technology aims to restore the ability to communicate and interact with technology independently for people with conditions like ALS, spinal cord injuries, and stroke that cause severe motor impairment.
In May 2023, Paradromics raised USD 33 million in a Series A funding round led by Prime Movers Lab, with participation from Westcott Investment Group, Dolby Family Ventures, and Green Sands Equity. This investment will enable the company to launch its first-in-human clinical trial for the Connexus DDI.
Additionally, in a significant milestone, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the Connexus DDI a Breakthrough Device Designation in May 2023. This designation recognizes the transformative potential of the device and allows for an expedited review process, accelerating its availability to patients.

Paradromics

Cognixion is a leading developer of non-invasive Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) and Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Their flagship product, the Cognixion ONE Axon, utilizes electroencephalogram (EEG) technology to provide a non-invasive brain-computer interface. It enables patients with advanced disease progression, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Motor Neuron Disease (MND), traumatic injuries, and cerebral palsy, to communicate their responses with their thoughts and mental attention in a wearable, augmented reality headset.
The Cognixion ONE Axon integrates Artificial Intelligence (AI), including GPT large language models, to rapidly support the user's communication intentions and desired outcomes. It provides contextual predictions and suggestions that can be quickly selected and communicated audibly and visually on the front visor as a communication aid. The device aims to become the first FDA-cleared device allowing fully paralyzed or locked-in patients to communicate via a non-invasive brain-computer interface once eye-tracking is no longer usable due to ocular motor decline.
Cognixion's technology combines AI, Augmented Reality, and Assistive Technology, designed to help people with severe motor impairments communicate and interact more effectively and independently with the world around them. Unlike invasive BCI technologies, Cognixion's device can be prescribed and utilized without surgical procedures or significant training, providing a new level of independence and autonomy.
Key customers and partnerships
In May 2023, the Cognixion ONE Axon received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Breakthrough Device designation, which will streamline its development and validation process with prioritized feedback from FDA review staff. This designation is awarded to devices that demonstrate the potential to provide more effective treatment for life-threatening or debilitating conditions where no clear alternatives exist.

Cognixion

Non-invasive hardware typically involving wearable devices that can record, monitor and interact with brain activity using methods like electroencephalography (EEG), enabling the control of prosthetic limbs, operating computers, and more

Physical devices implanted in the body, often in the brain, to interface with neural signals such as electrodes or neural implants

Companies that offer software platforms for BCI applications, including cloud platforms that enables neural data storage

Companies that gather, store, analyze, and interpret neural data collected via BCIs in order to generate valuable insights for clinical decision making

Most BCI companies personalize the BCI devices based on the patient's condition and goals

Most BCI companies leverage a digital means of extracting and interpreting neural data, some of which use mobile applications to provide insights

The products/platforms offered by most companies utilize AI/ML in enhancing their offering

Wispr AI

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