Shenzhen University (SZU) faculty, students, and alumni visited the Shenzhen subsidiary of BrainCo, a global leader in non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, on October 14. This marked the 18th stop of the "20+8" Strategic Emerging Industries Series organized by SZU's College of Management, aiming to bridge academic insights with industrial practices.
Led by He Jun, Secretary of the College of Management, the 30-strong delegation comprised representatives from five disciplines: Management, Biomedical Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Electronic Information, and Psychology. The visit was hosted by BrainCo's Vice President Cheng Jiao, Embodied Intelligence Business Director Zhang Zhige, and other senior executives.
Founded in 2015 as the first Chinese team admitted to Harvard Innovation Lab, BrainCo has secured $400 million in funding—ranking alongside Elon Musk's Neuralink as the two best-funded BCI enterprises globally, leading the non-invasive and invasive segments respectively. The national "Little Giant" enterprise and unicorn company has undertaken key national projects and was recognized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for its innovative AI medical devices .
During the exhibition tour, delegates experienced BrainCo's full product lineup. Disabled employees demonstrated the company's bionic hands—enabling interactions like handshakes and even piano performances—offering tangible proof of BCI technology transitioning from sci-fi to reality. In the rehabilitation sector, the "Happy Nut" system uses social brain network algorithms to assist autistic children, while "Zhuanzhu Xin" provides personalized, trackable attention training for kids . The consumer-focused FocusZen headband, integrating EEG sensors and meditation programs, monitors stress levels in real-time and guides users toward mental regulation .
The roundtable, moderated by SZU alumnus Fan Zheng, CEO of Shenzhen Fanbot Robotics, deepened discussions on collaboration. Secretary He Jun emphasized the need to identify "connection points" for industry-academia-research integration and talent cultivation. Cheng Jiao outlined BrainCo's mission to "unlock more life possibilities" and elaborated on applications in bionics, rehabilitation, consumer electronics, and human-machine interaction. "This showcases technology's humanistic care and China's cutting-edge innovation capability," He commented.
Faculty raised discipline-specific questions: Biomedical Engineering Dean Chen Xin explored brain science collaboration; AI researcher Wang Yi inquired about EEG signal processing; Electronic Information Professor Shi Weiwei proposed cooperation in low-power human-machine interaction; Psychology Professor Peng Weiwei linked pediatric neurofeedback to human-computer interaction psychology; and Management Professor Pan Yanping addressed regulatory challenges and R&D resource allocation. BrainCo executives responded comprehensively, outlining future collaboration avenues.
Post-event, delegates engaged in in-depth exchanges with BrainCo teams. "This visit builds a platform for deeper cooperation," He stated, noting that interdisciplinary discussions had opened new perspectives on BCI and explored talent development partnerships. Both parties expressed anticipation for joint efforts to advance this transformative technology for broader societal benefit.
