China has unveiled a massive plan to develop its brain-computer interface (BCI) industry, with the ambition to catch up with or surpass American startups like Elon Musk's Neuralink, Tom's Hardware reports.
The Implementation Plan for Promoting Innovation and Development of the BCI Industry document includes 17 key measures and is supported by seven ministries, combining industrial planning, medical regulation, and scientific supervision.
The program envisages accelerating the transition of technologies from laboratories to clinical practice by 2027, and China plans to form its own strong players in the domestic market by 2030. Unlike the US, where companies undergo complex FDA testing, the Chinese model involves regulators from the very beginning, which reduces the time from research to commercialization.
The plan’s priorities include developing low-power implantable chips, improving electrode materials to reduce scarring, creating algorithms to instantly convert thoughts into commands, and scaling up production. Clinical trials are already showing progress: patients with implanted electrodes are controlling smartphones and playing chess using neurosignals. By the way, you can read about the development of neurochips as a separate industry in our article.
In addition to medical applications, the plan supports the development of consumer devices to monitor driver attention or industrial safety. China is positioning BCI as a platform for a medical revolution and consumer electronics, combining national coordination with ambitions in semiconductor manufacturing.
Recall, it recently became known that scientists from Stanford University were able to decipher the brain activity associated with the silent "inner voice" in people's heads.