The brain-computer interface (BCI) sector is heating up.
Recently, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) website disclosed that Shanghai StairMed Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "StairMed"), a domestic BCI company, has initiated IPO guidance, with Huatai United Securities serving as the sponsor. If progress goes smoothly, this company, founded only five years ago, is poised to become one of the first leading enterprises in the domestic BCI sector to enter the capital market.
StairMed was established in August 2021 and is headquartered in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai. The company focuses on the R&D, clinical translation, and industrialization of minimally invasive implantable brain-computer interface (BMI) systems.
The company has raised a cumulative total of CNY 2.6 billion in financing. It has notably secured joint investment from two internet giants, Alibaba and Tencent, making it one of the most well-funded BCI companies in China.
Post-90s Scientists Start a Business Betting on the Fully Invasive Route
StairMed was co-founded by two researchers born in the 1990s: Zhao Zhengtuo and Li Xue.
Both Zhao Zhengtuo and Li Xue were born in 1991. Although their academic trajectories differed slightly, they highly converged at the intersection of "engineering technology and life sciences."
Zhao Zhengtuo completed his undergraduate studies in Energy and Power Systems and Automation at Xi'an Jiaotong University. He subsequently obtained a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
During his postdoctoral phase, he conducted research at the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University. This interdisciplinary background spanning precision mechanics, materials science, and life sciences laid a solid foundation for his later relentless pursuit of the underlying structure and materials of BMI implants.
Li Xue, who is of the same age, followed a path focused on information and control sciences. From obtaining her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Biomedical Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology to earning an Engineering Master's and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University respectively, her expertise leans more towards system architecture and neural signal processing algorithms.
In late 2020, both returned to China and joined the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CEBSIT). On this national-level cutting-edge research platform, they not only completed early-stage technical accumulation but also identified the significant gap between laboratory research and clinical application for BCIs.
In 2021, Neuralink's monkey experiments ignited the first wave of entrepreneurship in invasive BCIs. In August of the same year, Zhao Zhengtuo and Li Xue jointly founded StairMed .
Zhao Zhengtuo's background in mechanics and materials handles the "hard" aspects—electrodes and implants—while Li Xue's expertise in algorithms and systems manages the "soft" aspects—signal decoding and control. This complementary hard-soft partnership structure forms the core chassis for the company's assault on fully invasive BCIs.
BCIs have different technological branches, and StairMed chose the route with the highest technical threshold and greatest engineering difficulty—fully invasive.
Compared to non-invasive or semi-invasive approaches, fully invasive BCIs deliver electrodes directly to the cerebral cortex via craniotomy, enabling the collection of the highest-quality neuron-level signals. However, surgical risks and engineering complexity increase exponentially.
In terms of commercialization paths, StairMed chooses to first tackle engineering certainty, streamlining downstream processes, and then using this system to accommodate future developments in various frontier technologies.
Core Product Recognized as "Global Novelty"
The core technological foundation of StairMed is ultra-flexible neural electrodes. These electrodes have a diameter approximately 1/100 to 1/300 that of a human hair, while the implant body has a diameter of about 26 mm and a thickness of less than 6 mm.
The implantation procedure requires only a micro-hole of 3–5 mm in the skull. This ensures extremely high signal acquisition accuracy while reducing physical damage to brain tissue during implantation.
Around this core electrode, the company has built a complete closed-loop system, encompassing an implantable BCI platform, neural signal decoding algorithms, and a flexible electrode semi-automatic implantation surgical robot.
StairMed's core product, WRS01, is a 256-channel minimally invasive implantable BCI system primarily targeting patients with high-level paraplegia, aiming to restore their motor functions. By collecting brain intent and converting it into control commands, patients can remotely operate computers and external devices.
According to disclosures, WRS 01 is the first fully invasive BCI product in China to enter the National Medical Products Administration's (NMPA) special review procedure for innovative medical devices and has been recognized as a "Global Novelty" medical device. "Global Novelty" specifically refers to new drugs or medical devices that have not been marketed anywhere in the world.
Regarding clinical data, StairMed has cumulatively completed 42 long-term implantations, surpassing the 27 long-term implantations of Neuralink, the company founded by Elon Musk, making it currently the fully invasive BCI enterprise with the most long-term implanted patients globally. The cumulative in-body duration for subjects exceeds 5,000 days, and brain-control usage time has broken 10,000 hours, providing real clinical validation for the system's long-term safety and stability.
In addition, the company is simultaneously advancing the R&D of a closed-loop ultra-low-damage deep brain stimulation system, having completed 4 clinical research implantation surgeries, with plans to launch clinical trials in 2027 for indications including Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. Language function reconstruction is also underway; a Chinese speech neuroprosthesis trial for patients with speech disorders began in September 2026.
On the manufacturing side, StairMed has established a "BCI Innovation Base," integrating three parts: a medical-grade MEMS manufacturing center, a GMP production platform, and a dedicated testing platform for fully invasive BCIs.
Among these, the MEMS manufacturing center handles the precision fabrication of ultra-flexible neural electrodes, the core components of the BCI. StairMed is also among the first batch of companies to introduce semiconductor processes into medical device manufacturing, completing fine structural and conductive circuit processing at the sub-micron scale through over100 procedures such as lithography.
Alibaba and Tencent Jointly Bet, Cumulative Financing Reaches CNY 2.6 Billion
StairMed's financing trajectory is almost a microcosm of the surging popularity of the BCI sector.
In late 2022, the company completed an angel round of tens of millions of yuan, with Yuanlai Capital participating. Subsequently, it completed Series A financing of hundreds of millions of yuan, with OrbiMed and Yuanhe Origin entering. In February 2025, it secured CNY 350 million in Series B, with Qiming Venture Partners and Lilly Asia Ventures entering. At the end of the year, the B+ round involved Shanghai State-owned Investment and Development Corporation. The financing pace is steady, and the scale continues to expand.
What truly caught the market's attention was the strategic financing of CNY500 million in March this year. Alibaba led the investment, Guotou Chuanghe followed, and existing shareholders such as Tencent and Yuanlai Capital continued to add funds. This marks a rare joint bet by two internet giants on the same company in the BCI field.
Entering the second half of the year, industrial and financial capital such as Geely Capital, CATL, Dachen Fortune, and CDH Investments continued to flow in. As of September, the company's cumulative financing reached CNY 2.6 billion.
An analysis of the shareholder list reveals the different betting logic of various types of capital. Healthcare-specialized funds represented by OrbiMed and Lilly Asia Ventures value WRS 01's clinical necessity in serious medical fields and its clear registration and listing path. State-owned platforms like Shanghai State-owned Investment and Development Corporation and Guotou Chuanghe align with policy orientations treating BCIs as future industries and regional industrial cultivation efforts. The involvement of Geely Capital and CATL focuses more on the potential synergy between BCIs, humanoid robots, and smart cars in next-generation sensing and interaction.
As for the rare joint appearance of Alibaba and Tencent, the strategic implication is even deeper. As giants heavily invested in AI, cloud computing, and large models, both companies are seeking the super-entry point for next-generation human-machine interaction. Once BCIs break through the boundaries of medical rehabilitation, their strategic value will be immeasurable. StairMed, being the target with the most advanced clinical progress on the fully invasive route in China, naturally became the focal point of competition between the two giants.
The leap in capital structure also corresponds to a shift in the industry stage. Since the beginning of this year, BrainCo and Shuli Innovation have successively filed for IPO guidance, initiating their SSE STAR Market IPO processes. With StairMed joining, leading domestic BCI companies are collectively shifting from primary market financing competitions to secondary market listing sprints.
In five years, moving from the angel round to IPO guidance, StairMed used CNY 2.6 billion in financing and 42 long-term implantations to push the fully invasive route from the laboratory to the latter half of registered clinical trials. But listing is just a new starting point.
Text｜Dayu Edited｜Yida