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THE FIRST LETTER

By Zimbo · November 6, 2026

AI cartoon by Zimbo: Satirical cartoon: a woman wearing camera-equipped glasses stares in astonishment at an eye chart where a single huge letter L stands out from black ink, while a circular inset shows a tiny golden electrode grid glowing in her retina, on plain white paper.
A blind woman read letters again days after a retinal chip was switched on — 320 channels of light where there was darkness.Zimbo for AI News Page

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A 40-year-old woman from Zhejiang province who lost her sight to retinitis pigmentosa began recognising letters again within days of a chip being switched on in her retina, Nanochap Electronics said — the chip carries 320 stimulation channels.

Nanochap announced on November 3 that it had closed a RMB 500 million Series C+ round led by Gaorong Ventures, its second round of 2026, bringing total funding to RMB 1 billion. Three patients have been implanted so far, with 30 implants aimed for 2026 and commercial approval sought in 2027.

The result is early and narrow — letters, days after switch-on, in a handful of patients — but it is the outcome the field has been chasing: a chip that puts sight back, not a lab demo of it.

The joke is the first-letter beat: a woman in camera glasses stares in astonishment at an eye chart where one enormous letter L stands out from the black ink, while a circular inset shows the tiny golden electrode grid glowing in her retina.

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