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Bridge Neurotech says it has raised $13.5 million to develop a brain-computer interface (BCI) that could image brain activity through an intact skull using ultrasound, then decode those signals in real time. The company is still at an early research stage: it has not reported a working communication device, performance results, or a product for sale.
What Bridge Neurotech announced
In an October 2026 founder letter, Bridge Neurotech said it raised $13.5 million from General Catalyst, reMind Capital, Sunflower Capital, Scott Sandell, and other investors. The letter does not give the financing a round label or name every investor. Bridge says it will use the funding to advance development, not that it has completed a device. Bridge Neurotech’s founder letter
On October 6, 2026, Butterfly Network separately announced a research and development agreement with Bridge through Butterfly Embedded. The announcement says Bridge will use Butterfly’s programmable Ultrasound-on-Chip technology in pursuit of real-time brain imaging and interaction without surgery or implants. That describes the partnership’s goal, not a demonstrated outcome. Butterfly Network’s announcement
How the proposed ultrasound BCI is meant to work
Bridge’s explanation starts with an ultrasound array that sends sound pulses and listens for echoes. Echoes from stationary tissue tend to repeat; echoes from moving red blood cells change. Bridge says those changes can indicate blood flow. Because neural activity increases oxygen demand and can widen nearby blood vessels, the company proposes mapping blood-flow changes to brain activity, then decoding the resulting images into useful information. Bridge’s approach page
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This is Bridge’s account of its proposed method, not evidence that its system can already interpret a person’s thoughts or reliably communicate their intentions. Ultrasound as a modality is portable, fast, and does not use ionizing radiation; Bridge also notes that researchers have explored ultrasound for sensing brain function and neuromodulation. Those general properties do not establish the performance of Bridge’s own system.
Why reading through an intact skull is difficult
Bridge identifies two major engineering problems. First, bone scatters and absorbs sound, and those effects vary from person to person, making it difficult to form useful images through an intact skull. Second, software must turn the images into meaningful information quickly and work across different people. Bridge says it is early and does not see a single answer to either problem. Bridge’s approach page
That distinction matters when the company describes its goal as “non-invasive.” The goal is imaging through intact skulls without an implant or skull opening. But Bridge’s initial study also includes adults who have had a cranioplasty with a PEEK or Longeviti implant. The company says those implants let sound through more easily than bone and provide a comparison reference; it also aims to image healthy adults through intact skulls. Bridge’s founder letter Bridge’s approach page
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Bridge says its first study is enrolling in Redwood City, California. The described participants are healthy adults aged 18 and older and adults who have had cranioplasty with a PEEK or Longeviti implant. WIRED describes the study as observational, with no treatment or diagnosis, and reports that a small ultrasound probe is placed against the side of the head. Bridge’s founder letter Bridge’s approach page WIRED’s October 6, 2026 coverage
The available descriptions do not give a participant total, protocol identifier, study completion date, or results. The study should not be read as proof that Bridge has built a working communication system or shown clinical benefit.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How Bridge’s aim differs from earlier ultrasound BCI work
WIRED reports that researchers from Caltech and the University of Southern California demonstrated an ultrasound-based BCI that read and decoded human brain activity in a 2024 study. That approach required part of the skull to be removed and replaced with a window for ultrasound. Bridge’s stated research objective is different: to image through an intact skull. This comparison explains the technical hurdle; it does not establish that Bridge has solved it. WIRED’s October 6, 2026 coverage
For any BCI, useful comparisons include whether surgery or a skull opening is required, what signal or imaging method it uses, whether performance has been demonstrated across people, and whether the work is at the concept, research, or clinical-use stage. The available coverage does not support a numerical performance comparison between Bridge and other BCI companies.
Quick Recap
What is—and is not—established so far
- Funding: Bridge announced a $13.5 million raise in October 2026 and named several investors.
- Technology: The company is developing an ultrasound-based BCI, with intact-skull imaging and real-time decoding as goals.
- Evidence stage: The first study is enrolling; no Bridge system accuracy figures or study outcomes are reported in the cited sources.
- Availability: The sources describe research and development, not a commercial device or consumer product.
- Partnership: Butterfly Network announced an R&D agreement involving its programmable Ultrasound-on-Chip technology.
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