(Yicai) Feb. 11 -- Shanghai Stairmed Technology has secured CNY350 million (USD47.9 million) in its latest fundraiser, the largest single investment in the Chinese implantable brain-computer interface industry.

The Series B financing round was led by Qiming Venture Partners, OrbiMed, and Lilly Asia Ventures, the Shanghai-based startup announced yesterday. Angel fundraiser investor FountainBridge Capital also took part.

The proceeds will be used to accelerate clinical trials of Stairmed's BRI products, develop next-generation technologies, and build a production facility for medical-grade micro-electromechanical systems to support the commercialization of BCI technologies.

There are three types of BRI technologies: non-invasive, invasive, and semi-invasive. Most Chinese BCI companies focus on non-invasive signal acquisition technologies, as invasive BCI technologies are still in the early development stages. But just like Elon Musk's Neuralink, Stairmed focuses on invasive BRI.

Founded in 2021, Stairmed researches and develops minimally invasive implanted BCI products. It has developed China's first high-throughput implanted BCI system that meets medical device standards, as well as the country's first invasive BRI product to have completed regulatory testing.

Editor: Futura Costaglione