Facebook Deal Suggests Path Forward for Brain-Computer Tech
28 September 2019 - 8:46AM
Dow Jones News
By Heather Mack
Facebook Inc.'s acquisition of brain-computer interface
technology startup CTRL-Labs Inc. suggests the first big
breakthrough in the emerging field of brain-computer interfaces
could come not in medical technology but in consumer devices.
Investors expect the social-media giant's purchase of CTRL-Labs
-- which is developing a wristband to enable people to control
digital devices with their minds -- will fuel the development of
sophisticated consumer products involving virtual reality and
gaming. Life-science applications for the technology could follow,
they add.
The deal broadly demonstrates the maturation and public support
of the entire field of brain-computer interface technology, said
Arkitekt Ventures Managing Director Enke Bashllari, including those
developing futuristic, invasive medical devices such as her
portfolio company Paradromics Inc. and Elon Musk's startup
Neuralink Corp.
"We're past the hype of brain-machine interface as well as the
question of whether it will ever work," said Ms. Bashllari, a
neuroscientist by training who now invests full time. "We've
already seen the number of startups double every year for the past
three years, so I'm absolutely confident this will spur more
innovation and investments."
The sector got a boost in February when the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration issued guidelines on how to regulate brain-machine
interface technology. At the time, Stanford University engineering
professor Krishna Shenoy, who directs the neural prosthetics lab
there and is an adviser to CTRL-Labs and Neuralink, said the
guidelines were likely issued in response to the increase of such
startups.
U.S. brain-device startups closed 38 venture funding rounds in
each of the past two years, a high point for the sector to date,
according to VentureSource, a data provider owned by WSJ Pro
publisher Dow Jones & Co.
Unlike Neuralink or Paradromics, which are targeting medical
conditions such as epilepsy and stroke and whose devices require
brain surgery to install, CTRL-Labs is working on a noninvasive
device for consumer use. Sensors embedded in its wristband read
signals between the nervous system and brain that communicate
physical actions, like moving your hand to control a mouse. It then
translates those signals into digital code that a computing device
can understand.
"It captures your intention so you can share a photo with a
friend using an imperceptible movement or just by, well, intending
to," Facebook Vice President of AR/VR Andrew "Boz" Bosworth wrote
in a post announcing the acquisition.
Neither Facebook nor CTRL-Labs could be reached for comment.
Facebook's reported $500 million to $1 billion purchase of
four-year-old CTRL-Labs sends a clear signal that brain-machine
interfaces have a place in consumer technology, Ms. Bashllari
said.
"I expect it to increase interest from all of the other big tech
companies, either by developing their own or bringing someone else
in-house," Ms. Bashllari said.
Facebook has been exploring the use of brain-machine technology
since at least 2016.
The CTRL-Labs deal has drawn scrutiny from the broader
technology community because of Facebook's record on privacy
issues, but life science and biotechnology investors consider it a
win.
CTRL-Labs likely is years away from launching a product. But how
it develops and commercializes its product under Facebook could set
the standard for how all consumer-grade brain-machine interface
devices reach the public, said Matrix Partners General Partner
Antonio Rodriguez, who backed CTRL-Labs in its $28 million Series A
round in 2018.
The company also could demonstrate how a consumer device could
be developed into a medical-grade device, he added.
"They've had a lot of inbound interest from universities, but
[CTRL-Labs Chief Executive Thomas] Reardon understood the only way
to get to scale was to start from a mass-market consumer product
and go backwards into medical care," said Mr. Rodriguez, who also
invested in Oculus Rift before its 2014 acquisition by Facebook for
$3 billion. "Very few products get adopted as a medical device, so
this a way to go forward."
Before the acquisition, CTRL-Labs raised $67 million from
investors including GV, Lux Capital and Amazon.com Inc.'s Alexa
Fund.
Write to Heather Mack at Heather.Mack@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 27, 2019 18:31 ET (22:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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