Ladder Medical Secures 500 Million Yuan in Funding: Brain-Computer Interface Company with Investments from Both Alibaba and Tencent

By the end of 2026, the total number of clinical implants for Ladder Medical is expected to approach or even surpass the current total clinical trials of Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company.

According to early IPO insights, Shanghai Ladder Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Ladder Medical”) recently completed a strategic financing round of 500 million yuan, led by Alibaba with participation from Guotou Chuanghe; existing shareholders Tencent, Yuanlai Capital, Aobo Capital, Yuanhe Yuan Dian, Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Fund, Source Capital, and Shanghai Guotou Xian Dao continued to follow, with Qifeng Capital serving as the exclusive financial advisor. In a previous financing round, Source Capital and Shanghai Guotou Xian Dao were co-lead investors.

Notably, Ladder Medical has raised over 1.1 billion yuan in the past year, making it the first company in the brain-machine interface (BMI) field backed by Alibaba and Tencent.

Founded in 2021, Ladder Medical focuses on minimally invasive implantable brain-machine interfaces (BMI), now possessing multiple globally leading technologies including electrodes, systems, algorithms, and surgical robots. Currently, Ladder Medical has fully deployed two business areas: “brain control” and “neural modulation,” providing innovative therapies for patients with movement disorders and neurological diseases. Particularly, Ladder Medical has independently developed ultra-flexible electrodes as thin as 1/100 of a hair strand and the world’s smallest wireless brain implant, completing China’s first invasive brain-machine interface prospective clinical trial in 2025.

It is worth noting that after successfully completing three clinical trials of brain-machine interfaces in 2025, Ladder Medical’s clinical progress continues to accelerate—by early 2026, leveraging its self-developed surgical robot, Ladder Medical successfully completed the clinical implantation of the 256-channel wireless high-throughput invasive brain-machine interface system (WRS02), with effective validation of brain control interaction functions.

This represents not only a technological breakthrough for Ladder Medical but also China’s first clinical trial of a 256-channel invasive brain-machine interface, marking a revolutionary step in high-performance invasive BMI development in China. The system is currently the only invasive brain-machine interface product approved for the “green channel” of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA).

Meanwhile, Ladder Medical is preparing for more extensive clinical deployment, planning to conduct large-scale multi-center registration clinical trials in mid-2026, with an expected enrollment and implantation of approximately 40 patients within the year. By the end of 2026, Ladder Medical’s total clinical implants are expected to approach or even surpass Neuralink’s current total of about 21 trials, signaling that Chinese brain-machine interface companies are racing toward global leadership in commercialization and clinical implementation.

While accelerating the clinical deployment of “brain control” products, Ladder Medical is also actively expanding its neural modulation product portfolio—relying on its leading ultra-flexible microelectrode technology, which rivals or surpasses Neuralink in key metrics such as miniaturization and flexibility. The company has successfully developed a closed-loop, ultra-low-damage deep brain stimulation system. This system won first place at the 2025 National Disruptive Technology Innovation Competition for brain-machine systems and has completed four clinical research implant surgeries, demonstrating regulatory validation of its modulation functions. Clinical trials are planned to start in 2027, aiming to provide revolutionary treatments for Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and other neurological conditions, further highlighting Ladder Medical’s strategic value in the global brain-machine interface field.

Ladder Medical founder Li Xue expressed gratitude for the steadfast support from early shareholders, with Tencent’s continued investment as a core industry shareholder, and welcomed Alibaba and Guotou Chuanghe’s participation in this round. The deep involvement of major internet and tech giants is of milestone significance: “Brain-machine interfaces are not only cutting-edge medical technology but also the ultimate integration of life sciences and information technology. The extensive experience of these tech giants in multimodal large models, computing infrastructure, smart hardware, and ecosystem deployment will deeply integrate with Ladder Medical’s leading hardware and clinical translation expertise. The strong alliance will jointly develop a new generation of intelligent brain-machine interface systems and a rich ecosystem of frontier applications. This is not only a boost for medical innovation but also a proactive layout for the next generation of human-computer interaction capabilities.”

Furthermore, aligned with the national “14th Five-Year Plan” for future industries, Guotou Chuanghe’s participation as a “national team” capital provides solid strategic backing for Ladder Medical’s development and signifies that Ladder Medical has become a core innovative force within China’s brain-machine interface strategic framework.