China’s BCI industry shifts from research to commercial scale

China is transitioning its brain-computer interface (BCI) industry from research to commercial scale. This shift is guided by a national roadmap released in August 2025 by China’s industry ministry and six other agencies, which targets major technical milestones by 2027 and a full supply chain by 2030. Driven by this policy push, China’s BCI market was expected to grow to more than $530 million (3.8 billion yuan) in 2025, up from 3.2 billion yuan in 2024, according to media reports. Long-term projections put the market at over 120 billion yuan by 2040.

According to Phoenix Peng, founder of noninvasive ultrasound BCI startup Gestala and co-founder of BCI implant manufacturer NeuroXess, the sector’s momentum rests on four primary factors:

• Strong policy support: In December, at the Shenzhen BCI & Human-Computer Interaction Expo, China announced an 11.6 billion yuan ($165 million) brain science fund to support BCI companies.
• Vast clinical resources: China offers large patient pools and lower research costs. By mid-2025, researchers had completed over 50 flexible implantable BCI clinical trials. This clinical environment enabled the country’s first fully implanted, wireless BCI trial, which allowed a paralyzed patient to control devices without external hardware.
• Mature industrial manufacturing: China’s mature manufacturing base across semiconductors, AI, and medical hardware accelerates prototyping and development.
• Strategic investment: Capital is flowing to startups in China. In February 2025, StairMed Technology raised $48 million (350 million yuan) in Series B funding. BrainCo, a neurotech company developing noninvasive BCIs and bionic limbs, raised $287 million (2 billion yuan) earlier this year and has reportedly filed for a Hong Kong IPO. Gestala, which launched in January, is also in talks to close an angel round.

The market is currently split between two technical approaches. Invasive electrophysiological BCIs, such as those from NeuroXess or U.S. competitor Neuralink, implant electrodes directly into the brain for precise signals. Noninvasive systems, like those from BrainCo, trade some precision for safety by using headsets that read electrical activity through the skull via electroencephalography (EEG). Emerging noninvasive approaches, such as the ultrasound technology developed by Gestala, are targeting high-prevalence conditions including chronic pain, stroke, and depression.

Peng, who stated, “I have always maintained that neuroscience and AI are two sides of the same coin,” expects BCI use is likely to stay concentrated in healthcare over the next three to five years, with the market expected to reach a multibillion-dollar scale as insurance coverage expands. However, investors remain selective. Yang Yunxia, a partner at HSG (formerly Sequoia China), which invested in Zhiran Medical, noted in a blog post that “Some technologies may look cutting-edge but far from practical application,” emphasizing that investment decisions ultimately depend on whether a product can become a sustainable business.

Why it matters

China’s BCI industry is rapidly scaling through strong policy support, clinical resources, and manufacturing maturity, positioning it to challenge U.S. leaders like Neuralink.