Newell-led brain-computer interface company planned to unveil initial chips by year's end
Ready to dive into the latest tech news? Let's check out the buzz surrounding Starfish Neuroscience, a startup co-founded by none other than the legend himself, Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve. This innovative company has recently unveiled the first sneak peeks of its groundbreaking brain-computer interface (BCI) chip, promising to revolutionize the way technology interacts with our brains.
Starfish Neuroscience is planning to introduce a "novel class of minimal-invasive, distributed neural interfaces," granting simultaneous access to multiple regions of the brain. Their BCI could also be the industry's first fully wireless, battery-free implant, making it a game-changer in the world of neuro-tech. According to their blog, we can expect the first batch of these chips to hit the market in late 2025. With Newell at the helm, one can't help but imagine the future of gaming becoming even more immersive.
Valve, the gaming giant founded by Gabe Newell, has shown an enduring fascination with brain-computer interfaces for over a decade. In fact, they once considered adding earlobe monitors to their VR headsets, and as recently as 2019, they explored using BCIs for gaming. It wasn't until 2019 that Newell officially founded Starfish Neuroscience, and now we're seeing the fruit of their labor emerge from stealth.
What sets Starfish Neuroscience's BCI apart? Two crucial factors: size and power consumption. Their processor consumes a mere 1.1mW during regular operation, dramatically less than the Neuralink N1, which uses about 6mW. The chip is also physically small, with a footprint of just 2 x 4mm. Moreover, it boasts 32 electrode sites, 16 simultaneous recording channels, and the ability to stimulate the brain through biphasic pulses.
This smaller, lower-power BCI implant could excel when connected to multiple parts of the brain simultaneously. For medical applications, this multi-zone methodology could tackle issues affecting several brain areas, such as Parkinson's disease. Starfish Neuroscience isn't shy about acknowledging the need for collaboration, expressing interest in partnerships for wireless power delivery, communication, custom implanted neural interfaces, and more. So, keep an eye on this game-changing startup in the world of brain-computer interaction, and see how the future unfolds!
The novel, minimally-invasive BCI chip being developed by Starfish Neuroscience, co-founded by Gabe Newell from gaming giant Valve, could potentially revolutionize medical conditions like Parkinson's disease by accessing multiple regions of the brain simultaneously. This cutting-edge technology, which promises to be the first fully wireless, battery-free implant, is set to change the landscape of health-and-wellness, science, and technology.
