Kirsty Wark
China’s BCI sector is quickly moving toward real-world use, with strong government support and an increasing number of clinical trials. Local companies like BrainCo, Gestala, and NeuroXess are expanding faster than Western rivals. This effort shows China’s goal to lead neurotechnology, which is challenging Neuralink and Synchron in the global BCI competition.
China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing from research labs to hospitals. It is moving ahead of Western competitors in a contest that could change how people connect with machines. Its brain computer programm is powered by strong government funding. Chinese BCI startups are taking on Synchron and Neuralink directly while building a large local market that is already testing devices on patients.
This fast progress is not by chance. Beijing has made BCI development a national priority. They have placed it inside major science and technology programs with the kind of policy help that can turn new sectors into global leaders very quickly.
Investor interest is growing alongside this progress. Venture capital is pouring into Chinese BCI startups as investors bet on the field’s business potential and China’s huge local demand. The country’s aging population and increasing need for assistive technology create natural demand for devices that can help paralyzed patients communicate or control artificial limbs using only their thoughts.
The global competition angle is clear. Brain-computer interfaces sit where AI, biotechnology, and human enhancement meet. It is exactly the areas where the US-China tech rivalry is strongest.
Clinical trials are already underway. China’s plan includes building next-generation neural chips to collect brain signals, improving software to interpret them, and creating a full production chain.
The strategy also involves designing special electrodes for different brain areas. From regions close to the dura mater to deeper parts of the cerebral cortex, while testing sensors based on light, magnetism, electricity, chemistry, and ultrasound.
The country already has several firms testing real implants. NeuroXess has placed its device in six patients: three used it to control a computer, while the others successfully turned their brain signals into spoken language in Chinese.
NeuroXess trials have used invasive BCI technology, and because of this, they focus mainly on serious medical needs such as paralysis or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). People without major health problems are unlikely to accept brain surgery or implanted devices.The NeuroXess BCI uses a polyimide and metal mesh that rests on the brain’s surface without cutting into brain tissue. This is different from Elon Musk’s Neuralink system, which uses an implant filled with tiny threads that enter the brain to capture signals directly.
Four factors driving BCI in China. When asked what is behind China’s fast BCI development, Peng told TechCrunch it comes down to four main reasons. The first is strong policy backing, with cooperation between government departments to align technical rules and medical payments. The second is extensive clinical resources, including large patient groups and lower research costs that speed up testing.
China’s national health insurance system allows quicker market entry once the government approves a device. The third is China’s advanced manufacturing base, covering semiconductors, AI, and medical equipment, which supports rapid research, development, and prototyping.
Finally, there is focused financial support, with both government funds and private investors increasing spending under national programs. BCIs are developing along two main paths.
The first is invasive electrophysiological BCIs like NeuroXess and Neuralink, which place electrodes in the brain to capture highly precise neuron-level signals. However, this approach involves surgical risks.
The second type is noninvasive systems like NeuroSky and BrainCo, which sacrifice some accuracy in exchange for safety and easier use. These devices are usually headsets or bands using electroencephalography (EEG), which read electrical activity through the skull. The field is expanding further, with new methods such as ultrasound, magnetoencephalography imaging, transcranial magnetic stimulation, optical techniques, and hybrid BCIs giving scientists more ways to read and influence brain activity.
The strategy goes beyond surgical implants. It also imagines wearable sensors placed on the head, forehead, or ears, built into headphones, helmets, or smart glasses.
Over the next five years, experts expect China’s BCI rules to move closer to global standards, with special attention on approvals and control of sensitive data. Chinese regulators are also likely to increase supervision of invasive devices and the information all BCI systems collect, while making approval easier for noninvasive technologies.
