BrainCo Inc. is a Chinese

neurotechnology Neurotechnology encompasses any method or electronic device which interfaces with the nervous system to monitor or modulate neural activity. Common design goals for neurotechnologies include using neural activity readings to control external devi ...

company that develops

brain–computer interface A brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a brain–machine interface (BMI), is a direct communication link between the brain's electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. BCIs are often dire ...

products. It is headquartered in

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

with a office in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

, United States.

Background

BrainCo was founded in 2015 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Han Bicheng while pursuing his

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

at the center for

Brain Science Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. It was incubated in the

Harvard Innovation Labs Harvard Innovation Labs (i-Lab) is an institution which aims to promote team-based and entrepreneurial activities among Harvard students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members of the Allston and Greater Boston communities. The i-Lab has incubated ...

. Han also founded BrainRobotics which would be under BrainCo. In 2016, BrainCo received $5.5 million in

seed funding Seed money, also known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor puts capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' suggests ...

to develop its first product: Focus 1. In 2017 it received $15 million from Chinese investors that included the China Electronics Corporation. James Edward Ryan also became an advisor to it. In 2018, Brainco moved its headquarters to Hangzhou in Zhejiang province of China. In April 2025, it was reported that BrainCo was looking into expanding its operations into Hong Kong.

Product history

EEG headbands

In 2016, BrainCo unveiled Focus 1 which is a headband that aims to detect and report brain activity through

electroencephalography Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignal, bio signals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in ...

(EEG). It was advertised to schools as Focus EDU where teachers can see if a student is paying attention based on EEG score. It initially received mixed reviews. It won several awards including "Most Innovative" at the 2017

International Society for Technology in Education The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on accelerating innovation in education through the smart use of technology in education. ISTE provides a variety of services to support profe ...

national conference. However at the 2016 CES conference, the Focus 1 device flopped in a live demo with ''

The Daily Dot ''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. It was founded by Nicholas White in 2011, and is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown newsp ...

'' calling it the most "cringeworthy demonstration" at the event. At the 2017 CES conference, the live demo was successful. In April 2019, a post on

Weibo Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ac ...

showed Focus headbands being worn by pupils at an undisclosed primary school in China. It attracted criticism for being seen as constantly monitoring children as part of

mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by Local government, local and federal governments or intell ...

. BrainCo issued a statement stating that headbands were used in a number of school trials in China to help children improve learning efficiency and had not been sold to any public school. Despite the controversy, BrainCo had already secured a two-year contract to get its Focus 1 device manufactured and targeted shipments of 600,000 units. In November 2019, it was reported that the school trials were halted in China amid parents’ privacy concerns and fears they could be used to control the children. By 2021, the product had been rebranded as FocusClam which is used to help users relax. On November 7, 2022, BrainCo released Eassleep, a headband used for sleep purposes. In October 2024, BrainCo released OxyZen which monitors heart rate, blood oxygen and brain waves to provide tailored meditation and sleep.

Prosthetic limbs

At the 2020 CES conference, BrainCo unveiled the final model of its BrainRobotics prosthetic hand with the product being launched on the market that year. The hand uses brain waves and muscle signals to intuit movement.

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

had named it as one of the top 100 inventions of 2019. On November 7, 2022, it received

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

certification. BrainCo is also developing prosthetic legs which were demonstrated in 2021.

References

{{Electronics industry in China 2015 establishments in Massachusetts Brain–computer interface Health care companies established in 2015 Technology companies established in 2015 Companies based in Hangzhou

Background

Product history

EEG headbands

Prosthetic limbs

See also

References