Chinese BCI startup Gestala raises $21.6M for non-invasive ultrasound brain tech

The startup, founded just two months before its raise, has secured China’s largest early-stage brain-computer interface round, heavily oversubscribed.

Phoenix Peng has already built one brain-computer interface company. NeuroXess, his first venture, develops implantable BCI systems designed to restore communication and motor function for people with severe neurological conditions.

His second company, Gestala, takes a different approach: no surgery, no implants, and a technology that Peng believes could define the next generation of the field entirely.

Gestala has raised $21.6 million,  approximately CN¥150 million,  just two months after its founding, at a valuation that Peng told TechCrunch sits between $100 million and $200 million.

The round was co-led by Guosheng Capital and Dalton Venture, with Tsing Song Capital, Gobi Ventures, Fourier Intelligence, Liepin, and Seas Capital also participating. Investor demand significantly exceeded available allocation: commitments ultimately totalled more than $58 million, making the round more than 2 ...