Andreessen Horowitz Backs Neuralink Rival in New Round
Prominent neurosurgeon Edward Chang has raised about $50 million for a brain implant startup.
Researchers’ and investors’ interest in brain device companies has escalated in recent years, particularly after Neuralink’s implant allowed a paralyzed man to play online chess and other video games using only his mind.
Photographer: Solskin/Digital Vision/Getty Images
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is backing a new company from leading neurosurgeon Edward Chang, people familiar with the matter said — marking the VC firm’s first investment into the growing brain device industry currently dominated by Elon Musk’s Neuralink Corp.
The company, called Echo Neurotechnologies Corp., is led by Chang, the chairman of the neurosurgery department at the University of California at San Francisco, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information.