China's brain-implant firm claims 42 implants — beating Neuralink's 27

Shanghai-based Stairmed Technology raised about $192.5 million in a late-stage round backed by Tencent, Alibaba, Geely Capital, CATL and others, bringing its total raised to about $357.5 million as of September — a round Dealroom ranks in the 99th percentile for late-stage Chinese health deals.

Its core product, the WRS 01, is a 256-channel implant that decodes neural signals into commands for external devices, aimed at restoring movement for people with high-level paralysis. The system finished enrolling a multi-centre registration trial in August, and as of October 28 the company reports 42 long-term implants and more than 10,000 hours of brain control — more implants, it says, than Neuralink's 27.

The device is not approved for commercial use, and Stairmed still has to prove long-term safety, clinical benefit and manufacturing at scale. The raise lands amid a funding surge for Chinese brain-computer startups, which drew an estimated $962.5 million in the first half of 2026 alone.