When most people hear “brain computer interface,” they think sci-fi. Precision Neuroscience is out here turning that fiction into FDA-cleared fact. Founded in 2021 by Dr. Benjamin Rapoport, Michael Mager, Demetrios Papageorgiou, and Mark Hettick, this NYC-based team has gone from lab dream to living proof in record time. In just 4 years, they’ve built the first high-bandwidth brain interface that doesn’t stab brain tissue to get a signal. The Layer 7 Cortical Interface listens to the brain’s whisper and talks back, with surgical precision and zero scar tissue to show for it.
Dr. Rapoport, a neurosurgeon and Neuralink founding member, knew the old way, penetrating electrodes, left damage behind. So he and Michael Mager, a Harvard-Cambridge brain with a financier’s edge, went minimalist instead: a system that reads and restores function while keeping the cortex untouched. Their solution packs 1,024 platinum electrodes into a film 1/5 the thickness of a human hair. One postage-stamp square, 600× the density of standard tech, decoding thought with submillimeter fidelity. It’s the kind of engineering that makes neurosurgeons nod and investors reach for a pen.
Precision announced a 7-figure strategic investment from SCI Ventures, the 1st VC fund focused exclusively on paralysis. Led by Adrien Cohen, whose brother’s spinal injury drives his mission, SCI Ventures is backed by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Wings for Life, Spinal Research, Promobilia, and the Shepherd Center. They bring capital, yes, but also clinicians, regulators, and advocates ready to move innovation from lab to life.
This latest round stacks on Precision’s $102 M Series C (Dec ’24) led by General Equity Holdings with B Capital Group, Duquesne Family Office (Staley Druckenmiller), and Steadview Capital along for the ride. That round pegged the co. around $500M, a number that already feels outdated. Over 100 employees deep, Precision’s tech has now been tested in 58 patients across Mount Sinai, UPenn, and WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. In Apr ’25, the FDA gave its 510(k) nod for 30-day use, the first clearance ever for next-gen wireless BCI tech.
The market? Massive. 20M+ people worldwide live with spinal cord injuries, each costing up to $6M over a lifetime. The BCI market alone is projected to hit $2 B by 2030, with Morgan Stanley eyeing a $400B U.S. opportunity. And Precision is positioned like a neurosurgeon with a steady hand, focused, calm, and cutting right to the signal. With Dr. Craig Mermel (Prez & CPO), Jayme Strauss (Chief Clinical Officer), and Nate Pletcher (CTO) steering execution, the company is building not just hardware but hope.
Because in the end, this isn’t about machines thinking like humans, it’s about humans reclaiming their freedom to move, speak, and live. Every signal decoded, every hand re-opened, every life restored, that’s Precision.
