Bezos and Gates Back Synchron in Drive for Brain Implant Breakthrough
Source: (
https://bloom.bg/3G3PNxE)
Last March, brain-computing interface expert Tom Oxley sat down
to dinner with Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos to talk about
Oxley's nascent company, Synchron Inc. That meal in Ojai, Calif.,
ended with something better than dessert: Bezos told Oxley that
he wanted to invest in the business.
Synchron said Thursday it completed a $75 million funding round,
part of it from Bezos Expeditions. The financing was led by ARCH
Venture Partners, and includes a check from Gates Frontier, the
venture investment arm of Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates,
and others. Existing investors also participated, including Khosla
Ventures - whose founder, Vinod Khosla, introduced Oxley to Gates.
Brain-computer interfaces, known as BCIs, can interpret and stimulate
parts of the brain and are seen as a possible treatment for brain
injuries. New investors approached Synchron "through the lens
of making an impact in neurology in an area of need," Oxley said
in an interview. They "saw BCI as a future therapeutic." About 100
million people globally have upper limb impairment, he said, and
could benefit from the technology.
The cash brings Synchron's total funding to US$145 million. That
places it behind Elon Musk's Neuralink Corp. and Max Hodak's Science
Corp. on fundraising, according to research firm Pitchbook, but far
ahead of most other BCI companies. It's an important ranking, given
the expense of advancing BCIs through the US Food and Drug
Administration approval process.
Synchron's Switch device aims to help paralysed people, such as those
with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), communicate by controlling
computer cursors with their minds.
The company has already enrolled three patients in a six-person US
feasibility trial and implanted the device in two of them. Oxley
expects the remaining patients to enrol and receive their implants
in the next few months. Doctors will observe them for a year and
report findings to the FDA. Two years ago, the agency gave
Synchron "breakthrough" status, allowing it to undergo a relatively
streamlined approval process.
The founder's next big goal is launching an FDA pivotal trial,
a necessary step for the Switch to be eligible for Medicare and
insurance coverage. Winning that eligibility would put the company
on a path toward future revenue.
Investors had a burst of enthusiasm for BCI startups in 2021, with
some 49 deals attracting $568 million of investment, according to
Pitchbook. That tailed off this year to 37 deals at $263 million
of funding through Nov. 28, but that's still the second-highest since
2015.
Unlike the devices proposed by many other BCI companies, which
typically involve various types of brain surgery, Synchron's system
gets implanted into the jugular vein in a process similar to
inserting a coronary stent. From there, its tiny electrode-studded
stentrode travels through the bloodstream into the brain's motor
cortex. The implant works by communicating via a tiny wire with
a second implant in the chest. A transmitter then sends signals to
a computer outside the body, near the patient.
Ari Nowacek, a principal at ARCH Venture Partners, will join
Synchron's board of directors, while ARCH managing director
Robert Nelsen will join as a board observer.
