Coherence Neuro co-founders Elise Jenkins and Ben Woodington have announced the company’s $10 million seed round on social media.
The two took to LinkedIn to share the news of the funding, which supports the company’s flagship SOMA-1 device. SOMA-1 is a therapeutic brain-computer interface (BCI) that continually monitors and administers custom stimulation to potentially treat cancer.
SOMA-1 features a wireless, coin-sized implant designed to subtly stimulate and record from the brain. It works with an over-ear wearable that delivers all-day power and memory. Then, the SOMA app provides real-time insights, session history and symptom tracking tools.
Coherence Neuro says its system monitors cancer progression in real time and delivers targeted stimulation to overwrite cancer’s bioelectric signaling. Rather than impact the entire body, SOMA-1 embeds in the relevant areas and administers therapies directly. The technology tailors therapy to each individual’s unique physiology.
According to the company, the device is MRI-transparent and enables home-based care, fewer hospital visits and easier compliance. Its closed-loop system learns from each patient in real-time while AI decodes electrical signals to identify the fingerprint of each tumor.
On LinkedIn, Jenkins said the company aims to bridge the gap between neuro and AI with a closed-loop, bi-directional cancer-treating system. It developed SOMA-1 to listen to electrical cues that evolve as diseases progress and “nudge them back towards a healthier state using electrical stimulation.” She said the funding propels the company toward its first-in-human trial.
Woodington added on LinkedIn:
“40% of us will get cancer in our lifetimes, yet there is no single cancer care company. Why? Because the entire process involves numerous moving parts, various approaches, medications, and monitoring techniques, with no unified whole. We solve this through our therapeutic neurotechnology and BCI platform—a critical technology for extending life and improving the human condition. Our platform brings a new approach to treating the disease while capturing biological data that was previously impossible.
“With these breakthroughs, we can build cancer prediction models that update in real time. We’ll adapt stimulation and drug therapies with continuous feedback to ensure the most effective course of treatment. We believe cancer is a system-state error, and is now solvable. All this begins with a tiny implant that treats your cancer with electricity via your body’s master control system—the nervous system.”
More details on the funding for Coherence Neuro and the wider BCI space
The seed round was led by Artesian & Topology Ventures. Pre-seed investors Blackbird and Possible Ventures also participated. They were joined by investors and angels, XEIA Venture Partners, Jumpspace Ventures, Xtal, Divergent Capital, SmartGateVC, Spacewalk VC, Matt Krisiloff, Linhao Zhang and Tim Shi.
It marks more investor interest in BCIs as that market continues to grow. The likes of Neuralink and Synchron notably have already implanted their BCIs in patients as they and many more aim to be the first to bring a BCI implant to market. Funding continues to come into the space, too, with OpenAI recently backing a new BCI venture called Merge Labs.
Precision Neuroscience may have gotten a leg up on the BCI field in April, picking up FDA 510(k) clearance for its Layer 7 cortical interface for BCI technology. The company says it’s the first full regulatory clearance granted to a company developing a next-generation wireless BCI.
Ability Neurotech, a Swiss spinout from the Wyss Center, is advancing its own platform. Leaders from the company recently spoke to MassDevice about their ambitions in the BCI market.
Other recent BCI developments include expansion for InBrain Neuroelectronics, first-in-human cases for Axoft and CorTec, positive study results for Science Corp., funding for Phantom Neuro and a new partnership for Cognixion.
For more on the space, MassDevice has compiled lists of BCI and neurotech companies you need to know in recent years:
- 2024 – Another 5 brain-computer interface companies you should know
- 2024 – 7 neurotech companies you need to know
- 2023 – 5 more brain-computer interface companies you need to know
- 2022 – 7 brain-computer interface companies you need to know
Learn more about BCIs and some of the players in the space HERE.
