StairMed Raises $72.5 Million: Alibaba and Tencent Back China's Brain-Machine Interface Pioneer

StairMed, a leading Chinese brain-machine interface (BMI) company, has secured $72.5 million in strategic funding, marking a significant milestone in the development of neurotechnology. The funding round was led by Alibaba, with co-investment from SDIC Innovation Capital, and participation from existing investors including Tencent, Origin Capital, Aobo Capital, Yuanhe Origin, Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, Source Code Capital, and Shanghai SDIC Leading Fund. Qifeng Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor.

This latest funding round brings StairMed's total investment to over $160 million within the past year, making it the first BMI company to receive backing from both Alibaba and Tencent. Founded in 2021, StairMed focuses on minimally invasive implantable BMIs and has developed multiple world-leading technologies, spanning electrodes, systems, algorithms, and surgical robotics.

Advanced Brain-Machine Interface Technology

StairMed's technological advancements include ultra-flexible electrodes with a diameter 1/100 the thickness of a human hair and the world's smallest wireless brain-machine implant. These innovations have enabled China's first prospective clinical trial of invasive BMIs in 2025. The company's R&D efforts cover two main business lines: brain-control applications and neuromodulation therapies, aiming to provide innovative solutions for patients with motor disorders and neurological diseases.

Clinical Milestones and 256-Channel Breakthrough

Following the successful completion of three BMI clinical trials in 2025, StairMed's clinical progress continues to accelerate. In early 2026, using proprietary surgical robotics, the company successfully implanted its 256-channel Wireless High-Throughput Invasive BMI System (WRS02). The procedure demonstrated effective brain-control interaction, marking the first 256-channel invasive BMI clinical trial in China. The WRS02 system is also the only invasive BMI device in China approved for the National Medical Products Administration's "green channel" for innovative medical devices, representing a revolutionary step in high-performance invasive BMIs.

StairMed plans to launch a large-scale, multi-center registration clinical trial in mid-2026, targeting approximately 40 patients within the year. By the end of 2026, total clinical implantations could approach or even surpass Neuralink's current trial count of 21 patients, signaling China's rapid march toward global leadership in commercialized BMI solutions.

Expanding into Neuromodulation

Alongside brain-control product clinical deployment, StairMed is actively developing neuromodulation therapies. Leveraging globally leading ultra-flexible microelectrode technology, which rivals or surpasses Neuralink in miniaturization and softness, the company has developed a closed-loop, ultra-low trauma deep brain stimulation system. The system won first prize in the 2025 National Disruptive Technology Innovation Competition, Brain-Machine Systems category. Four clinical research implantations have already validated its functional efficacy. Plans are underway to begin full clinical trials in 2027, targeting diseases such as Parkinson's and epilepsy, offering potentially transformative therapies.

Strategic Significance of Tech Giant Partnerships

Li Xue, founder of StairMed, emphasized the milestone significance of deep involvement from leading tech companies: "BMIs are not only cutting-edge medical technology but also the ultimate convergence of life sciences and information technology. The experience of tech giants in multimodal AI models, computing infrastructure, smart hardware, and ecosystem deployment can deeply integrate with StairMed's globally leading BMI hardware and clinical translation expertise. This strong collaboration will drive the next generation of intelligent BMI systems and a rich frontier application ecosystem, supporting medical innovation while laying the groundwork for future human-computer interaction capabilities."

The strategic partnerships with Alibaba and Tencent highlight the growing importance of BMIs as a frontier technology that bridges medical innovation with advanced computing and AI capabilities. As StairMed continues to advance its clinical trials and expand its technological capabilities, it is positioning itself as a key player in the global race to commercialize brain-machine interface technologies.