Draft:Synchron

Synchron is a neurotechnology startup company that develops brain–computer interface (BCI) implants, inserted near the surface of the brain with an endovascular procedure. Co-founded by CEO Dr. Thomas Oxley and CTO Nicholas Opie in 2016, the company has about 60 employees and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.

Synchron's first product is the Stentrode Motor Neuroprosthesis. The company announced in September 2019 that the first patient was implanted with the Stentrode Motor Neuroprosthesis in Melbourne, Australia. In 2021, Synchron received FDA approval to conduct early feasibility studies and begin human trials in the United States. They are the first company to have ever received such FDA approval, granting them the legal rights to conduct BCI trials in human patients. In July 2022, Synchron began enrolling patients in its first U.S. clinical trial. In December 2022, Synchron completed a $75 million Series C funding round, this included contributions from financiers ARCH Venture Partners, the Gates Frontier Fund, Bezos Expeditions, Google's X Development, the University of Melbourne, and others, along with capital contributions from existing investors. The company has raised $145 million in total funding with support from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council.

The company plans to apply for full FDA approval following clinical trials, and will seek to make the device more affordable to the public by applying for Medicare coverage in the United States. According to Wired, Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley has said that the cost of the implant may be "in the order of magnitude of the cost of a car".

Technology
The Stentrode neurovascular implant is inserted into a blood vessel near the motor cortex of the brain, with a minimally-invasive procedure via the jugular vein. The 8mm thick Stentrode is composed of a tubular nitinol mesh, contains 16 electrodes for recording aggregate neuronal activity, and is connected by a fine wire under the skin to a coin-sized implant in the chest — this transmitter unit (called the Synchron Switch) decodes the signals from the motor cortex using machine learning algorithms, and enables bluetooth communication with other devices. Based on preliminary human trials, it is capable of sending 20 characters per minute.