Founded by Australian professors Tom Oxley and Nick Opie, New York-based Synchron announced on Friday that it had closed a $110 million Series C funding round led by ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from Bezos Expeditions and Gates Frontier.
The product is a tiny device that can be implanted on blood vessels on the surface of the brain via the jugular vein.
Currently undergoing clinical trials in the US and Australia, the procedure is minimally invasive, which Mr Opie thinks sets it apart from other products, including Elon Musk's Neuralink.
"We don't need to remove the scalp and skull or put electrodes directly into delicate brain tissue," he said.
"We've come up with a clever way of getting to the right place in the brain just by using the body's naturally occurring highways and blood vessels."
Mr Opie said the procedure is quick and safe, meaning patients have much faster recovery times.
Four Australian paralysis patients have been implanted with the device since the first was treated in 2020 at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
"All of those patients were able to control a computer with their mind," Mr Opie said.
"And there were no serious device-related effects."
The first US patient was treated in July at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, after Synchron received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration last year.
Meanwhile, Mr Musk's Neuralink is under federal investigation in the US for potential animal welfare violations and is yet to gain approval from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Mr Musk had said his company wants to start human trials within the next six months, however, the billionaire reportedly approached Synchron about a potential investment in August after complaining that progress at his own company had stalled.
The Synchron founder said they had been in conversations with Mr Musk in recent months but a company acquisition was "not on the table".
The funds will be used to launch a potentially pivotal clinical trial.
Also participating in the fundraising round were Reliance Digital Health, Greenoaks, Alumni Ventures, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Project X, as well as existing investors Khosla Ventures, NeuroTechnology Investors, METIS, Forepont Capital Partners, ID8 Investments and Shanda Group.
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