After the popularity of concepts such as ChatGPT and CPO, the brain-computer interface industry has become a market outlet.
As of midday on June 1, the brain-computer engineering concept sector continued to be active, with innovative medical (002173) and Xinzhi cognition (603896) all 5 consecutive boards, Sanbo Brain (301293) up 20%, iFLYTEK (002230), Century Huatong (002602) up limit, and Tomcat (300459) up nearly 4%.
On May 29, Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the 2023 Zhongguancun Forum that with the joint efforts of the industry, the mainland has formed a brain-computer interface industry chain covering the basic layer, technology layer and application layer, and has been applied in the fields of medical care, education, industry, and entertainment. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will take brain-computer interface as an important direction to cultivate future industrial development, strengthen the exploration of brain-computer interface application scenarios, and accelerate the vigorous development of the brain-computer interface industry.
May 30, 2023, local time, Toronto, Canada, 14-year-old Zen Hanif, who has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, uses a head-mounted sensor to control a car on track, which makes Joesan Deane-Trotman happy. Visual China map
Brain-computer interfaces refer to technologies that establish direct connection pathways between the brain and external devices to enhance, improve and extend brain function. In layman's terms, brain-computer interface is like a bridge built between the human brain and external devices, when humans think, microcurrents will be generated in the cerebral cortex, and brain-computer interface technology can directly extract these electrical signals to control external devices.
Despite the high popularity, some investors believe that the brain-computer interface industry is still far from practical application, "At present, brain-computer interface technology is still in the early stage of research and exploration, and there are problems such as low maturity of key core technologies, industrial chain ecology has not yet formed, and outstanding safety and ethical challenges." Guo Tao, an angel investor and artificial intelligence expert, told The Paper that brain-computer interfaces are still far from industrialization, and it is expected to take at least ten years.
Many companies say that "it has nothing to do with me", and game companies have many layouts
In terms of the layout of brain-computer interfaces, a number of A-share listed companies have responded that they are concerned about technology, but there are currently no independently developed products.
On June 1, the surging news reporter as an investor called the pharmaceutical company, brain-computer interface concept stock Zhaoyan New Drug (603127), relevant staff told the reporter that the company currently has no products on the brain-computer interface, but has carried out relevant cooperation with third-party companies, but it is expected that there will be no obvious results in the short term. The relevant staff of Guanhao Biotechnology told reporters that there is currently no relevant layout and no follow-up research plan.
On May 31, iFLYTEK said on the investor interactive platform that the company has actively paid attention to the key areas of science and technology frontiers and carried out forward-looking layout research. Due to the complexity and particularity of the brain itself, medical ethics and other limitations, the industrial application of brain science is still in the stage of forward-looking research. iFLYTEK deeply participated in the 2030 major project of "Brain Science and Brain-like Research" of the Ministry of Science and Technology, cooperated with experts from Beijing Normal University to focus on language reading and carry out brain measurement research, and led the important topic of "Construction and Operation of Children's Brain Development Data Information Platform" to serve China's national strategy of brain science. As a screening platform for adolescent depression of iFLYTEK Super Brain, it will provide AI capability support for the mental health of children and adolescents across the country in the future.
Hongbo Pharma (301230) said on the investor interactive platform that the company has not yet engaged in research in the field of brain-computer interface, but the company has a positive and open attitude towards the application and development of cutting-edge technologies in the market, and will pay close attention to the development trend and application of related technologies, and actively look for suitable business opportunities.
On May 30, Aerospace Changfeng (600855) responded on the interactive platform that the company, as the first governing unit of the Brain-Computer Interface Alliance, will collaborate with other member units to actively participate in the research and development and application of related technologies. The company does not currently have the relevant products. According to the official website information, Aerospace Changfeng is a high-tech listed company based on China's high-end aerospace technology and application achievements and aerospace military enterprises.
On May 29, Zhaoyan New Drug said that non-human primates are more similar to humans in terms of physiological characteristics, behavioral activities and even social attributes, and have innate model advantages in the treatment of degenerative diseases or nerve damage. In the early years, the company has established a central nervous system drug research and development technology platform, and has maintained close communication with some brain science research institutions at home and abroad to jointly help customers develop new drugs.
Previously, the neurological medical group Sanbo Brain Department (301293) said that brain-computer interface technology has great application prospects in the field of clinical diagnosis and treatment and neurorehabilitation in neuromedicine, and the company, as a college-type medical institution integrating "medical education and research", has always paid attention to the application and development of brain-computer interface technology in the medical field, and also participated in the basic application and exploration of clinical applications.
It is worth noting that a number of game companies have announced that they have layouts in the field of brain-computer interfaces.
On May 31, Century Huatong (002602) said on the investor interactive platform that the company and Zhejiang University jointly established the legendary innovation research center of Zhejiang University in 2020, mainly focusing on emerging fields such as digital medicine, digital organs, and brain-computer integration. Last year, the research team of the Legend Center made a major breakthrough in the research of the regulatory mechanism of brain diseases, and the ecological enterprise invested by the company, its "Attention Enhancement Training Software" obtained the second-class medical device certificate of the State Medical Products Administration, and is actively trying to apply various brain-computer interfaces.
On March 4, 2021, Mihayou signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine to jointly build the "Mihayou Joint Laboratory of Ruijin Hospital Encephalopathy Center" Weibo @Ruijin Hospital Data map
Mihayou, which owns well-known game IPs such as "Genshin", reached a strategic cooperation with Ruijin Hospital as early as March 2021 to jointly build the "Mihayou Joint Laboratory of Ruijin Hospital Encephalopathy Center". According to public information, the laboratory aims to focus on research topics such as the development and clinical application of brain-computer interface technology, and the current recruitment mainly includes functional game development, brain-computer interface (including software and hardware development and neuroscience research), brain diseases in digital medicine, etc., but Mihayou did not disclose the latest progress of research.
Tomcat said that it has worked with schools and research institutions to promote industry-university-research work in the fields of brain-computer interface, brain function data analysis, and digital game therapy. The company, its subsidiaries and partners continue to promote the industry-university-research work in the field of brain-computer interface, as well as the feasibility study of the proposed landing project, business model discussion and other preliminary work. The company's exploration in the above fields at this stage mainly focuses on the company's technology accumulation, business exploration and brand linkage, which does not have a significant impact on the company's short-term business performance.
37 Interactive Entertainment (002555) has also said that the company has laid out in the fields of VR/AR content, computing power, semiconductors, optics, display, complete machine, application and underlying technology, and will continue to pay attention to the direction of a new generation of technology including artificial intelligence, robots, brain-computer interfaces and other aspects in the future.
High professional barriers, not suitable for "concept hype"
A number of interviewed investors frankly said that brain-computer interface is not a new concept, and has been developed in China for more than 20 years, but it is currently impossible to judge the business logic and development prospects behind this industry.
"This track has always been hot, but I have never invested in it myself, because I really can't understand it, and I still have a wait-and-see attitude." A well-known VP of VC (venture capital) told The Paper reporter.
"In fact, since 2020, some leading Internet companies have successively participated in the research of brain-computer interface, and used the Internet business model to transform and integrate the medical field of brain science." A business leader of a listed company who has been concerned about brain-computer interfaces for a long time told reporters that at present, brain-computer interfaces are mainly divided into "invasive" and "non-invasive" types, the first of which is represented by Musk's Neuralink company, which needs to be implanted with chips through the skull; The second is non-invasive, collecting signals through the scalp.
In his view, the current brain-computer interface industry is still generally in an invasive state, which may cause certain damage to the human brain, and there is also a greater risk, and it is hoped that non-invasive applications will be more common in the future and the harm to the human body will be minimized.
"It's a very rigorous and very high-barrier area, and not all companies can use it as a concept hype." Pan Helin, co-director and researcher of the Digital Economy and Financial Innovation Research Center of Zhejiang University International Business School, told The Paper.
Pan and Lin believe that Musk's brain-computer interface has been proposed for many years, and only this year has he obtained the FDA's clinical trial approval, and it is likely that the clinical trial will end in failure. It is hoped that the state will support capable enterprises to conduct brain-computer experiments, such as those with experience in brain implantation. And not invent some "toy". In addition, the brain computer also involves some scientific and technological ethical issues, such as neural control, brain-computer risks, etc., and the brain-computer industry must be required in strict accordance with the standards of medical implanted products.
September 1, 2022, Shanghai, the 2022 World Artificial Intelligence Conference was held at the Expo Center, and a model of macaques with brain-computer interface implants on the top of the head was placed at the booth of Brain-Computer Interface Company Braintiger Technology. Visual China infographic
Although the current development is still immature, its industrial development space potential has been recognized by the industry. Speaking of future investment opportunities, Guo Tao introduced that brain-computer interface technology is the key core technology of a new generation of human-computer interaction and human-computer hybrid intelligence, and has broad market application prospects in medical, mechanical, entertainment, education and military fields. With the continuous introduction of favorable policies in the industry, as well as the maturity and commercial application of related technologies, it will promote the rapid development of AI chips, EEG acquisition equipment, brain-computer interface equipment, brain-computer signal software and other industries, and is expected to form a trillion-level market scale.
According to a report released by the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Industry Association in 2021, brain-computer interfaces can be divided into a broad market and a narrow market. In the next five years (2021-2025), the global generalized brain-computer interface market is expected to reach more than 330 billion US dollars, mainly used in medical, gaming and entertainment, education technology and other fields; The narrow market size represented by brain-computer interface devices is about $2.5 billion.
On May 20, 2021, local time, the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated the process of 28-year-old Nathan Copland's participation in brain-computer interface technology application research projects. Visual China infographic
Huaan Securities released a research report that brain-computer interfaces will be the first to be used in the medical rehabilitation industry in the future, and advanced human-computer interaction has room for imagination. According to the "Brain-Computer Interface Standardization White Paper 2021", the global brain-computer interface market size was about 1.2 billion US dollars in 2019 and is expected to reach 3.7 billion US dollars in 2027.