NeuroGenesysBCI companies compared (2026)
Last updated • By Will Schulz
No brain-computer interface company has market approval for a chronic implant as of November 2026. Neuralink reports 21 implanted participants (as of January 2026) and an 11.32 bits-per-second cursor record; Paradromics has one participant decoding speech in its Connect-One study; Synchron's Stentrode avoids open brain surgery; and Precision Neuroscience holds FDA 510(k) clearance for a surface array used for up to 30 days.
The fastest peer-reviewed speech results still come from academic teams: 62 and 78 words per minute in 2023, and in 2026 an average of 56 words per minute over nearly two years of home use. Company figures are self-reported unless a paper is cited, and the metrics in each column measure different things.
How do the leading BCI companies compare?
| Company | Device and placement | Electrodes | Reported performance (context) | Trials and FDA status | Participants (disclosed) | Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neuralink | N1 implant ("Link"), robotically implantedPenetrating: flexible threads in motor cortex (hand-knob area) for cursor control | 1,000 per the January 2026 update, which says it is increasing to 3,000 | Cursor: 11.32 bits per second record (one participant) with decoders pretrained on 50,000+ hours of unlabeled data; median about 10 BPS (company blog, Oct 2026, not peer-reviewed). Typing up to 40 words per minute via finger decoding (Jan 2026). | FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for Blindsight (Sep 2024) and speech restoration (May 2025). Trials: PRIME (NCT06429735), CAN-PRIME, GB-PRIME, UAE-PRIME, CONVOY, VOICE speech study (NCT07224256). No market authorization. | 21 worldwide as of Jan 28, 2026 (company)Reports of 26–27 participants by mid-2026 are secondary and not included. | Primary |
| Paradromics | Connexus BCI, fully implantable and wirelessPenetrating: microelectrodes reaching 1.5 mm below the surface of motor cortex | 421 microelectrodes | Preclinical: information transfer above 200 bits per second (animal data, company). Human: the first Connect-One participant decodes real-time speech; no words-per-minute or error rate disclosed (Sep 2026). Over 4 years of stable recording in sheep (company, Oct 2026). | Breakthrough Device Designation (2023). IDE for the Connect-One early feasibility study (Nov 2025, NCT07357428, initial target 2 participants, sites UC Davis, Mass General and U-Michigan). FDA approved personal-device use (Aug 2026) and removal of the 4-hour residence rule (Oct 26, 2026). | 1 disclosed (first long-term implant, University of Michigan Health, June 2026) | Primary |
| Synchron | StentrodeEndovascular: delivered by catheter through the jugular vein to the superior sagittal sinus, over sensorimotor cortex; no craniotomy | Not stated on the company site | SWITCH first-in-human study (JAMA Neurology 2023, 4 analyzed): no device-related serious adverse events at 12 months; each patient controlled a computer. Low-bandwidth switch and cursor control, no words-per-minute claim. | Breakthrough Device Designation (Aug 2020), IDE (Jul 2021). US COMMAND early feasibility study (NCT05035823): 6 enrolled. 2026 studies: INTENT (NCT07543367), FOCUS-AUS (NCT07533903); FOCUS-CAN terminated for insufficient recruitment. "Not currently approved for commercial use in any geography." | 11 across SWITCH (5 enrolled) and COMMAND (6), plus 1 in FOCUS-CAN; 2026 enrolment not disclosed | Primary |
| Precision Neuroscience | Layer 7 Cortical Interface (thin film); Layer 7-TSurface, non-penetrating: rests on the brain, inserted through a micro-slit | 1,024 per module; up to four modules, 4,096 electrodes in one procedure | Nature Biomedical Engineering paper (announced Oct 2025) on the first 5 patients in the micro-slit study: decoding and stimulation from the brain surface. No words-per-minute or bits-per-second figure in the release. | FDA 510(k) clearance K242618 for Layer 7-T (decision Mar 30, 2025), for recording, monitoring and stimulation on the brain surface, implanted up to 30 days. Fully implantable wireless system in development. | 37 patients by Apr 2025; the homepage now says 100+ clinical study patients (temporary or intraoperative implants) | Primary |
| Blackrock Neurotech | Utah / NeuroPort Array; MoveAgain BCI systemPenetrating microelectrode array, usually with a percutaneous pedestal in research systems | 96-electrode array commonly cited | Utah-type arrays underpin most academic intracortical speech records, including Stanford's 62 WPM (2023) and UC Davis's 97.5% accuracy (2024), via BrainGate. Homepage: "Decoding up to 62 words per minute." | 510(k): NeuroPort Electrode K070272 (2007) and NeuroPort Cortical Microelectrode Array System K110010 (2011). Chronic use is under IDE research protocols. Breakthrough designation for MoveAgain (Nov 2021). No market approval for a chronic BCI. | No company count published | 510(k): PrimaryElectrodes, designation: Secondary |
Primary: we read the company release or page, the peer-reviewed abstract, the ClinicalTrials.gov record or the FDA database ourselves. Secondary: trade press or an aggregator only.
How fast are speech BCIs in 2026?
The peak peer-reviewed speeds are still 62 words per minute (Stanford) and 78 (UCSF), both from 2023. We found no peer-reviewed 2026 paper claiming a higher peak. The 2026 milestone is durability: UC Davis reported an average of 56 words per minute across nearly two years of independent home use by one participant.
| Group | Paper | Device | Result (context) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford (Willett et al.) | Nature, 2023 | Intracortical arrays (BrainGate2), ALS | 62 words per minute; word error 9.1% on a 50-word vocabulary and 23.8% on 125,000 words (lab sessions) |
| UCSF (Metzger et al.) | Nature, 2023 | High-density surface ECoG, brainstem stroke | Text at a median 78 words per minute, median word error 25%; also voice synthesis and an avatar |
| UC Davis (Card et al.) | NEJM, 2024 | 4 arrays, 256 intracortical electrodes, ALS | 99.6% accuracy on 50 words on day 1; 97.5% sustained over 8.4 months on a 125k vocabulary; about 32 WPM in conversation |
| UC Davis (Card et al.) | Nature Medicine, Jun 2026 | Same participant as NEJM 2024 | Nearly 2 years and over 3,800 hours of home use without researchers present; average 56 WPM; over 99% word accuracy in formal tests |
| UC Davis (Wairagkar et al.) | Nature, 2025 | 256 microelectrodes, ALS | Real-time brain-to-voice synthesis with intonation control and short sung melodies (a quality result, not a WPM record) |
| UCSF / Berkeley (Littlejohn et al.) | Nature Neuroscience, 2025 | High-density surface ECoG, anarthria | Continuously streaming, large-vocabulary voice synthesis in 80-ms increments |
| Stanford (Kunz et al.) | Cell, 2025 | Multi-unit recordings, 4 participants | Inner speech decodable in real time from motor cortex, with strategies that prevent unintended decoding |
| BrainGate / MGH (Jude et al.) | Nature Neuroscience, 2026 | Intracortical, 2 participants (ALS, spinal cord injury) | Typing by attempted finger movement: 110 characters per minute (22 WPM) at 1.6% word error (typing, not speech) |
Can BCI performance numbers be compared directly?
No. Bits per second measures cursor information rate; words per minute measures speech or typing; word error and accuracy depend on vocabulary size; and peak lab sessions differ from average home use. Neuralink's 11.32 bits per second and UC Davis's 56 words per minute describe different tasks. Read each figure with the context given in its row.
Which brain-computer interfaces have FDA approval?
None has market approval as a chronic implant. Precision's Layer 7-T has 510(k) clearance for use up to 30 days, and Blackrock's NeuroPort arrays have 510(k) clearances dating from 2007 and 2011, with chronic use under research protocols. Neuralink, Paradromics and Synchron hold Breakthrough Device Designations and run studies under Investigational Device Exemptions.
What has the Research Desk written about BCIs?
- Free tool • In-browserCompare these BCI companies side by sideFilter by approach, sort by electrode count and put any of the companies above next to each other.
- Free tool • In-browserNeural data rate calculator (EEG & BCI)Bit rate and storage from channels, sample rate and bit depth, and whether it fits a wireless link.
- Research Desk • Nov 2026A speech implant drops its four-hour rule: reading Connect-One's first months.
- Research Desk • Aug 2026The 4,096-electrode era: where brain-computer interfaces stand today.
- Research Desk • Jul 2026Decoders that generalize: the case for brain foundation models.
- GlossaryBrain foundation model: definition
- Topic hubNeural data privacy laws: state-by-state tracker
Sources
- Updates (Two years of Telepathy; Pretraining on 50,000 hours; Breakthrough designations) — Neuralink
- Neuralink PRIME (NCT06429735) — ClinicalTrials.gov
- Neuralink VOICE (NCT07224256) — ClinicalTrials.gov
- Connexus BCI — Paradromics
- Paradromics achieves real-time speech with the Connexus BCI — Paradromics
- FDA approval to expand Connexus study recruitment nationwide — Paradromics
- Paradromics Connect-One (NCT07357428) — ClinicalTrials.gov
- Technology — Synchron
- Stentrode SWITCH first-in-human study — JAMA Neurology, 2023
- Synchron COMMAND (NCT05035823) — ClinicalTrials.gov
- Synchron FOCUS-CAN (NCT07446114) — ClinicalTrials.gov
- FDA clearance for high-resolution cortical electrode array — Precision Neuroscience
- 510(k) K242618 — openFDA
- Homepage — Blackrock Neurotech
- 510(k) K110010 — openFDA
- Blackrock's MoveAgain BCI is an FDA breakthrough device — Secondary: FDAnews
- 62 words per minute — Stanford (Willett et al.), Nature, 2023
- Text at a median 78 words per minute, median word error 25% — UCSF (Metzger et al.), Nature, 2023
- 99.6% accuracy on 50 words on day 1 — UC Davis (Card et al.), NEJM, 2024
- Nearly 2 years and over 3,800 hours of home use without researchers present — UC Davis (Card et al.), Nature Medicine, Jun 2026
- Real-time brain-to-voice synthesis with intonation control and short sung melodies (a quality result, not a WPM record) — UC Davis (Wairagkar et al.), Nature, 2025
- Continuously streaming, large-vocabulary voice synthesis in 80-ms increments — UCSF / Berkeley (Littlejohn et al.), Nature Neuroscience, 2025
- Inner speech decodable in real time from motor cortex, with strategies that prevent unintended decoding — Stanford (Kunz et al.), Cell, 2025
- Typing by attempted finger movement: 110 characters per minute (22 WPM) at 1.6% word error (typing, not speech) — BrainGate / MGH (Jude et al.), Nature Neuroscience, 2026
