Explaining the neurotech market to a board or investors? Get defensible numbers

Updated October 202670+ pagesPDF

Neurotech by the Numbers
Cover of NewMarketPitch's Neurotech by the Numbers report, 2026 edition
Who is buying neurotech start-ups, and for how much? The medical giants that already sell stimulation devices. Boston Scientific paid $3.7B for Axonics in 2024, Medtronic $650M for SPR in 2026. No maker of brain implants has been bought recently. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
Do implants take the money while headsets make the sales? Yes. Implants took about 70% of the $3.1B recently raised by brain-computer interface start-ups. Yet research firms say headsets and other devices that need no surgery make 60% to 88% of the market’s sales. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
Who actually makes money selling neurotech devices? The medical giants. Medtronic sells about $2.1B of spinal cord and brain stimulation devices a year, Boston Scientific and Abbott about $1B each. Among brain-computer interface start-ups, Neuracle sells about $15M a year, mostly brain recording equipment. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
Is Neuralink implanting as many people as Elon Musk promised? Far from it. In July 2024 he wrote that over 1,000 implants were achievable in 2026. From January to June 2026, Neuralink implanted about six more people, 26 in all, according to reports. Its investor plan now aims for 20,000 implants a year by 2031. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
Is Neuralink, with no sales, now worth more than Inspire, which sells $900M a year? Yes, since 2025. Inspire, which sells implants against sleep apnea, was worth about $9.6B at its mid-2023 peak and $2.1B today. Neuralink, which sells nothing yet, went from about $5B to $9.0B at its June 2025 round. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
How many people carry a brain implant from the best-funded start-ups? Very few, about 21 people for Neuralink and 10 for Synchron after raising hundreds of millions, and none for good at Precision. Two Chinese state-backed teams have implanted more. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
Is China now doing far more brain-computer interface deals than the US? Yes, by far. From January to September 2026, Chinese start-ups closed at least 28 funding rounds and US ones four. But US rounds are much bigger, about $200M each. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
Who is really ahead, Neuralink or China’s Neuracle? Neuracle got there first. China approved its brain implant in March 2026, and it has implanted 44 people and sold 13 devices. Neuralink reads the brain far more finely and is valued over 15 times higher, but nothing is approved yet. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.
Does neurotech money go where the patients are? Not really. Start-ups working on paralysis recently raised about $1.8B, about $120 for each of the 15 million people living with a spinal cord injury. Depression, which affects 322 million people, drew about $160M, about 50 cents a person. Chart from NewMarketPitch's Neurotech report.

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Verified data with sourcesUpdated in October 2026