China’s brain computer interface industry is moving rapidly from laboratory research to commercial scale, driven by coordinated government policy, expanding clinical trials and rising investor interest, according to industry players. The sector, which develops technology that enables direct communication between the human brain and computers, is gaining momentum as startups race to commercialize both implantable and noninvasive systems for medical use and future human enhancement applications.
Phoenix Peng, co founder of NeuroXess and founder of ultrasound based BCI startup Gestala, said provinces including Sichuan, Hubei and Zhejiang have introduced medical service pricing for BCI procedures, a move expected to speed up inclusion in the national health insurance system.
In 2025, China’s industry ministry and six other agencies released a national roadmap targeting key technical milestones by 2027 and a complete industry supply chain by 2030. The plan aims to build globally competitive BCI companies while supporting specialized smaller firms, alongside the announcement of an 11.6 billion yuan brain science fund to support research and commercialization.
Researchers in China have also completed the country’s first fully implanted wireless BCI clinical trial, enabling a paralyzed patient to control devices without external hardware. The achievement follows a similar milestone earlier recorded by United States based Neuralink. Peng said more than 50 flexible implantable BCI clinical trials had been completed in China by mid 2025, covering areas such as motor and language decoding, spinal cord reconstruction and stroke rehabilitation.
Industry analysts attribute China’s rapid progress to four key factors: strong policy coordination across government departments, vast clinical resources supported by a national health insurance system, mature manufacturing capabilities in semiconductors and medical hardware, and growing state and private investment. Recent deals include Shanghai based StairMed Technology securing significant Series B funding and BrainCo reportedly filing for a Hong Kong initial public offering after raising substantial capital earlier this year.
Market projections indicate that China’s BCI sector could exceed 120 billion yuan by 2040, up from an estimated 3.8 billion yuan in 2025. While invasive implantable devices remain under close regulatory scrutiny, noninvasive technologies such as ultrasound based systems are expected to gain faster approval due to lower risk profiles. Regulators are also expected to strengthen oversight on data governance and ethical standards as the industry expands, with a focus on aligning domestic regulations more closely with international benchmarks.