BCI tech shifts from lab to production

A major step toward the industrialization of brain-computer interface technology was taken recently as NeuroXess, a Chinese BCI company, broke ground on a "super factory" project in the Ganjiang New Area of Nanchang, Jiangxi province.

The project, which began on Jan 13, is designed to support large-scale manufacturing of implantable BCI devices, marking a shift from laboratory research to standardized production in one of China's closely monitored frontier technology sectors. Construction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026, the company said.

The new facility is a core part of NeuroXess' dual-hub strategy, under which research and development capabilities are based in Shanghai while manufacturing is carried out in Jiangxi. The site will serve as a production center for implantable BCI systems and will also support data processing, rehabilitation training and the integration of BCIs with artificial intelligence.

Tao Hu, founder and chief scientist of NeuroXess, said the arrangement is intended to better link scientific research with manufacturing capacity.

"By keeping research in Shanghai and production in Jiangxi, we are combining Shanghai's strengths in talent and scientific research with Jiangxi's advantages in manufacturing ecosystems, labor availability and land costs," he said.

The project comes as China steps up planning for future-oriented industries. In its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), the country has identified brain-computer interfaces as one of six priority future industries.

As of January, three major hospitals in Jiangxi have established confirmed cooperation with NeuroXess on BCI-related research, with progress at different stages.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University completed Jiangxi's first research-oriented BCI implantation in July 2025. By October, the hospital had signed an agreement with NeuroXess to jointly establish the province's first brain-computer interface and neuromodulation clinical research ward.

The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University has also joined a combined clinical research mechanism and is preparing to carry out BCI-related clinical studies with the company. Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital has been incorporated into the same mechanism and plans to advance joint clinical research.

Zhang Jianzhong, a neurosurgeon at Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital, said standardized manufacturing could benefit more patients if ongoing clinical studies continue to deliver stable and positive results.

"Brain-computer interface technology is still largely in the clinical research stage," Zhang said. "If results remain reliable, moving toward standardized production may allow more patients with motor or language impairments to benefit in the future."

Zhang said key challenges include the long-term signal stability of implanted materials, the complexity of decoding brain signals — particularly language decoding — and issues related to ethics, cost and future insurance coverage.

Globally, brain-computer interface research has attracted growing attention in recent years, and China is advancing alongside international peers in the field, he added.

zhaoruinan@chinadaily.com.cn