Nanochap Achieves China’s First High-Resolution Retinal Visual Brain-Computer Interface Breakthrough

Source: VCBeat Health, 2026-07-30. https://www.vcbeathealth.com/article/60555

Nanochap (暖芯迦, Hangzhou), a portfolio company of Legend Capital, achieved success in its GCP clinical trial for China’s first high-resolution retinal pathway visual brain-computer interface. Patient “Lingling” (pseudonym), blind for nearly 20 years from retinitis pigmentosa, regained light perception and could recognize letters and patterns.

Key technical details

• 320 electrode channels in a 3 mm × 3 mm stimulation chip (implant ~1 gram total)
• 3D pillar-shaped electrodes, 50 µm diameter, 100 µm spacing, 0.5 mm total module thickness
• 256-level grayscale encoding; theoretical visual acuity 0.1 (Snellen row 1), up to 0.5 with camera magnification
• Magnetic fixation technology: stimulation module on retina, ultra-thin magnetic sheet posterior eyeball
• Bioactive glass hermetic encapsulation; laser crack-free welding; expected lifespan >10 years
• Single-coil integrated wireless charging + bidirectional data (3 cm range)
• Smart glasses with camera + communication coil; external processor runs neural encoding algorithm

Company details

• Founded 2014, Hangzhou; CEO Yang Jiawei (杨嘉伟); Chair: Yang Jiawei
• Spinout from University of Melbourne (initial sensor signal conditioning ASICs)
• 2015: secured invention patent for ultra-high-resolution retinal prosthesis (CN107224666A)
• May 2026: ¥300M (~$41M) strategic round, co-led by Legend Capital + industrial investor; GF Xinde, Caitong Capital, Harvest Capital participated; Tencent also reported as investor
• Total funding €40.1M ($44M); enterprise value €150–225M
• Plan: 30 clinical cases in 2026
• Products: NNC_Pstim320 (320-ch stimulation chip), ENS001, EPC001, BMS002

Clinical context

Surgery at Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital Eye Center. Patient “saw” on second day post-surgery (team expected 1-2 months). Mainstream international invasive visual BCI products have ~60 channels; Nanochap’s 320 channels are 5× that and entirely domestically produced.