Precision Neuroscience Raises $250 Million Series D for Brain-Computer Interface

Precision Neuroscience said on Sept. 24 that it has raised $250 million in a Series D financing round to develop its brain-computer interface and build commercialization infrastructure, MedTech Dive reported. The round brings the New York company's total funding to $430 million since its founding in 2021.

Pershing Square, the Ackman Oxman Institute and an undisclosed life sciences investment fund co-led the round. Other investors included the Duquesne Family Office, B Capital, ARK Invest, Invus, Mubadala Capital, Mirae Asset Capital, Korea Investment Partners, Hitachi Ventures and JSL Health Capital, The Next Web reported.

The New York Times reported that the round values Precision at just over $1 billion and that Pershing Square and the institute put in $42.5 million of the total, according to The Next Web. Precision is the Ackman Oxman Institute's first investment, the Times reported.

What the money is for

Precision plans to use the funding to expand its clinical program, advance its Layer 7 Cortical Interface through further FDA review and develop infrastructure for commercialization, according to a summary of the announcement published by HLTH.

Layer 7 is a thin, flexible array with 1,024 electrodes that sits on the surface of the brain rather than penetrating brain tissue, MedTech Dive reported. The company received FDA clearance for 30-day use of the device last year. Precision has said the device is one part of a wireless implant still in development, and Chief Executive Michael Mager told the Times the new money will help it seek approval for permanent implants, which he said is likely to take years, according to The Next Web.

"The next phase of BCI will be defined by more than technology alone," Mager said in the company's statement, as quoted by The Next Web.

Precision says it has carried out more than 100 patient procedures across 18 medical institutions, has a commercial partnership with Medtronic and operates its own MEMS manufacturing facility in Texas, according to HLTH.

A crowded field

The round is part of a surge in investment in brain-computer interface startups, MedTech Dive reported, citing Science Corporation's $230 million raise and Merge Labs' $252 million. MedTech Dive noted that Elon Musk's Neuralink is developing electrodes that connect into the brain, while Precision's device rests on its surface.

"Neurotechnology will be central to the next generation of cures, treatments and rehabilitation," Ackman, chief executive of Pershing Square and co-founder of the Ackman Oxman Institute, said in a statement quoted by MedTech Dive.