The deal combines Butterfly Network’s portable ultrasound technology with Forest Neurotech’s minimally invasive brain device. Forest, a deep tech research company, develops a device for imaging and stimulating the brain with ultrasound.
Forest Neurotech develops an ultrasound-based brain-computer interface (BCI) and software platform. It aims to catalyze breakthroughs in understanding and treating the human brain. Sumner Norman, Forest Neurotech co-founder and CEO, spoke to us about pushing the boundaries of BCI technology last year.
This agreement includes $20 million paid to Butterfly for annual licensing, chip purchases, services and milestone payments. Butterfly received $3.5 million on signing. The companies anticipate additional revenue for every unit sold upon commercialization.
Butterfly Network said the news follows the launch of “Butterfly Garden” earlier this year. This initiative aims to facilitate partnerships with medical device companies, AI companies or software developers. The company believes its Ultrasound-on-Chip technology has multiple uses in ultrasonic sensing, including for implantables.
Will Biederman, Forest Neurotech co-founder and CTO called Butterfly Network’s technology “key to enabling” its novel approach. Biederman said the companies share a passion for innovation and semiconductor-enabled healthcare technologies. He called Butterfly “the perfect match” for enabling the company’s vision for an implanted, whole-brain neural interface.
“Forest Neurotech is an exemplary partner that validates the vision behind Butterfly Garden,” said Joseph DeVivo, Butterfly Network president, CEO and chair. “We opened our imaging platform for co-development to encourage and expedite innovation that captures the full potential of Butterfly’s disruptive chip technology through new applications and in adjacent markets. By bringing our chip into the neurotech implantables space, this partnership does exactly that.”
