MintNeuro, a company spun out from Imperial College London, has secured $5 million in funding from European and US investors. The capital injection is earmarked to accelerate product launches, forge new partnerships, and support the company's international expansion.
The company's specialised semiconductor chips are engineered to interface directly with the brain and nervous system. This technology promises to enhance the management of neurological conditions such as stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and depression, which affect over a billion people globally.
Dr Dorian Haci, co-founder and Chief Executive of MintNeuro, highlighted the challenge faced by current device developers: "Most device and therapy developers still have to choose between generic components that were never designed for the body and years of custom chip development. We are building the chips that end that trade-off."
Professor Tim Denison, Chair of MintNeuro and a specialist in emerging biomedical technologies at the University of Oxford, commented on the significance of specialised hardware: "Neurotechnology is entering a phase where specialised hardware will determine how far, and how fast, the field can go. MintNeuro’s semiconductor technology is well-placed to remove the key obstacle to industry scale, which could dramatically accelerate the pace of innovation."
The core technology originated from the Next Generation Neural Interfaces Lab at Imperial College London, led by Professor Tim Constandinou. Dr Haci and Professor Constandinou founded MintNeuro in 2022, building on a business case developed through the MedTech SuperConnector accelerator.
The company previously raised £1 million in 2024, supported by the Imperial College Enterprise Fund and the MTSC Seed Fund. Hiten Thakrar, Head of Imperial SuperConnector, praised the achievement, stating, "MintNeuro is a standout example of what the MedTech SuperConnector Seed Fund exists to do: back exceptional deep tech founders early and help them reach their next stage."
With this latest $5 million funding round, MintNeuro aims to transition from technology validation to commercial scale-up. "This funding moves us from technology validation to commercial scale-up, with more customer programmes, faster product launches and our chips in the hands of many more developers," stated Dr Haci.
MintNeuro has already delivered functioning chips and achieved integration milestones with partners like Motif Neurotech in the US and Amber Therapeutics in the UK. A recent partnership with Motif Neurotech includes a multi-year commercial chip supply agreement for a neurostimulator targeting treatment-resistant depression.
Michelle Robson, Founding Partner at Odyssey Ventures, which led the investment round, expressed confidence in the company's potential: "MintNeuro has the technology, market pull and ambition to become a globally important semiconductor company, and we are backing this exceptional team as it scales from the UK into global markets, including Silicon Valley."
Additional investors in this round include 33East, JSK Investments, Alumni Ventures, Empirical Ventures, and Jumpspace Ventures.
