Bill Gates & Jeff Bezos Invest In Australian-Designed Brain Implant

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Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates

Billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have invested in Australia’s New York-based brain-computer interface company, Synchron, a leading competitor to Elon Musk’s start-up, Neuralink Corp

Founded by Australian professors Tom Oxley and Nick Opie, the company announced it had closed a $110 million Series C funding round involving Bezos Expeditions, Gates Frontier, and ARCH Venture Partners.

Acitivist Post reports: The Synchron Switch is a “brain-computer interface” that is implanted in the blood vessels at the surface of the motor cortex of the brain via the jugular vein.

Once set, the interface will detect and wirelessly transmit information from the brain, allowing severely paralysed individuals to control personal devices without needing to use their hands.

The funds will be put towards a pivotal clinical trial.

The Stentrode Endovascular Electrode Array (Courtesy of Synchron)

The Stentrode™ Endovascular Electrode Array and Implantable Receiver Transmitter Unit. (Courtesy of Synchron)

The Stentrode™ Endovascular Electrode Array and Implantable Receiver Transmitter Unit. (Courtesy of Synchron)

“We have an opportunity to deliver a first-in-class commercial [brain-computer interface],” said Oxley, also the CEO of Synchron, in a statement.

“The problem of paralysis is much larger than people realize. 100 million people worldwide have upper limb impairment,” he added.

ARCH Managing Director Robert Nelson said Synchron was helping individuals with untreatable conditions “regain connection to the world.

“It is an exciting time for neurotechnology,” he said.

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