Cofounder of Neuralink rival Precision Neuroscience reveals what people often get wrong about brain implants

Business Insider

7 hours ago

At least that's the line from Dr. Ben Rapoport, the cofounder and chief science officer of Precision Neuroscience, a brain-computer interface, or BCI, company.
"Many people have the impression that the data that we care about is sort of everywhere inside this dimensional structure," Rapoport, a neurosurgeon and engineer, told Business Insider.
That's a big misconception, he said. People often incorrectly assume that "you need electrodes that penetrate deep inside the brain to get that information out," he added.
But brain implants don't need to be as invasive as they might sound, he said.
Precision is developing a thin film that sits on the brain and records brain activity in patients with paralysis. "We implant modules of 1,024 electrodes on the brain surface in the area that controls movement, especially the hand," Rapoport said. That allows them to have cursor control, typing ability, access the internet, use PowerPoint, play games, and word process, he added.
These are actions that require vision, movement, sensation, and executive function — core parts of consciousness that are concentrated in the brain's outermost layer, the cortex, Rapoport said. Deeper inside are "connections, you know, between those activities and also sort of subconscious processes, because the brain coordinates a lot of activities in the body that don't take place consciously," he added.
The New York-based startup, which received FDA clearance for part of its wireless brain-computer interface in April, has raised $155 million in funding since it launched in 2021. It is one of a few companies advancing this technology as part of the Implantable BCI Collaborative Community.
BCIs are largely classified into two categories: invasive and non-invasive. Non-invasive BCIs, which don't require surgery, often rely on external sensors to detect the electrical signals in the brain.
BCS that are implanted record neural activity directly from the brain and are being developed to restore speech, movement, and other complex functions in people with neurological conditions. The buzziest BCI these days is Elon Musk's Neuralink, which has ambitions to create a "symbiosis" between the human brain and AI.
But there are a host of other companies working on BCIs as a way to treat neurological diseases, like Precision Neuroscience. The company has tested its temporary device in over forty patients in early clinical studies. Over the next year, it will prepare for the first human studies of its permanently implanted devices. "There are certain internal validation checks and internal milestones that we need to meet for ourselves and for the FDA before we want to start implanting the permanently implanted wireless device in humans," Rapoport said.
The company's ultimate goal is to help paralyzed people get "back to a level of functional capacity where they can be significantly independent, economically self-sufficient, and hold a job in the workplace," Rapoport said.
Correction: June 27, 2025 — An earlier version of this story said that Dr. Ben Rapoport was the founder and CEO of Precision Neuroscience; Dr. Rapoport is the cofounder and chief science officer. An earlier version also mischaracterized the film that goes on the brain. It is not studded with electrodes; the electrodes are embedded.