| BrainCo Inc. | |
| Type: | Private |
| Location: | Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China |
| Founder: | Han Bicheng |
| Key People: | Han Bicheng (CEO) |
| Industry: | Neurotechnology |
| Divisions: | BrainRobotics NeuroMaker STEM |
BrainCo Inc. is a Chinese neurotechnology company that develops brainācomputer interface products. It is headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang with a office in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States.
BrainCo was founded in 2015 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Han Bicheng while pursuing his PhD at the center for Brain Science at Harvard University. It was incubated in the Harvard Innovation Labs.[1] Han also founded BrainRobotics which would be under BrainCo.[2]
In 2016, BrainCo received $5.5 million in seed funding to develop its first product: Focus 1. In 2017 it received $15 million from Chinese investors that included the China Electronics Corporation. James Edward Ryan also became an advisor to it.
In 2018, Brainco moved its headquarters to Hangzhou in Zhejiang province of China.[3]
In April 2025, it was reported that BrainCo was looking into expanding its operations into Hong Kong.[4] In August it was reported that BrainCo was in talks to raise funds at a valuation of more than $1.3 billion ahead of a potential initial public offering in Hong Kong or mainland China.[5]
In September 2025, BrainCo drew scrutiny from Hunterbrook Media and Pablo Torre Finds Out for ties to the Chinese government.[6] [7] [8] During the same month, BrainCo set up its Asia-Pacific headquarters at Hong Kong's Cyberport.[9]
In 2016, BrainCo unveiled Focus 1 which is a headband that aims to detect and report brain activity through electroencephalography (EEG). It was advertised to schools as Focus EDU where teachers can see if a student is paying attention based on EEG score. It initially received mixed reviews. It won several awards including "Most Innovative" at the 2017 International Society for Technology in Education national conference. However at the 2016 CES conference, the Focus 1 device flopped in a live demo with The Daily Dot calling it the most "cringeworthy demonstration" at the event. At the 2017 CES conference, the live demo was successful.
In April 2019, a post on Weibo showed Focus headbands being worn by pupils at an undisclosed primary school in China. It attracted criticism for being seen as constantly monitoring children as part of mass surveillance. BrainCo issued a statement stating that headbands were used in a number of school trials in China to help children improve learning efficiency and had not been sold to any public school. Despite the controversy, BrainCo had already secured a two-year contract to get its Focus 1 device manufactured and targeted shipments of 600,000 units. In November 2019, it was reported that the school trials were halted in China amid parentsā privacy concerns and fears they could be used to control the children.[10]
By 2021, the product had been rebranded as FocusClam which is used to help users relax.[11]
On November 7, 2022, BrainCo released Eassleep, a headband used for sleep purposes.
In October 2024, BrainCo released OxyZen which monitors heart rate, blood oxygen and brain waves to provide tailored meditation and sleep.[12]
At the 2020 CES conference, BrainCo unveiled the final model of its BrainRobotics prosthetic hand with the product being launched on the market that year. The hand uses brain waves and muscle signals to intuit movement.[13] Time Magazine had named it as one of the top 100 inventions of 2019. On November 7, 2022, it received FDA certification.[14]
BrainCo is also developing prosthetic legs which were demonstrated in 2021.[15]
