Shanghai-based StairMed has secured RMB 500 million in a new financing round led by Alibaba, with participation from existing investors including Tencent, Fountainbridge Capital, OrbiMed, Oriza Seed, Qiming Venture Partners, Lilly Asia Ventures, and Source Code Capital. The latest raise brings the company’s total funding over the past year to more than RMB 1.1 billion and represents a rare joint investment by Alibaba and Tencent in the brain-machine interface sector.
The company plans to use the capital to accelerate the development of its brain-machine interface platform and expand its clinical programs. StairMed has already completed three successful clinical implants of its system and, in early 2026, deployed its proprietary surgical robot to implant a 256-channel wireless invasive BMI system. This marked the first clinical trial of a 256-channel invasive BMI in China and validated brain-controlled interaction capabilities.
StairMed’s system has also been granted access to the National Medical Products Administration Green Channel for innovative medical devices, positioning it for faster regulatory approval. The company expects to launch large-scale multicenter clinical trials in mid-2026, targeting around 40 patients this year and reaching several dozen total implants by the end of 2026.
Alongside its BMI platform, StairMed is advancing a neuromodulation pipeline. Its closed-loop deep-brain stimulation system, built on ultra-flexible microelectrode technology, has already been implanted in four patients in clinical research settings. The company plans to begin formal clinical trials for this system in 2027, targeting conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
Founded in 2021, StairMed develops minimally invasive implantable BMI technologies spanning electrodes, systems, algorithms, and surgical robotics. Its long-term focus is on enabling integration between brain and machine intelligence, with applications in both medical treatment and broader human-machine interaction.
KEY QUOTE:
“We are grateful to our existing shareholders for their continued support since our early days, particularly Tencent as a core industrial investor. We also welcome Alibaba and SDIC Unity Capital to this round. BMI is not only an emerging medical technology, but also a point of convergence between life sciences and information technology. The deep expertise of these industry leaders in multi modal large models, computing infrastructure, intelligent hardware, and ecosystem development aligns closely with StairMed’s strengths in BMI hardware and clinical translation. This partnership will enable us to co develop next generation intelligent BMI systems and cutting edge application ecosystems. This is more than an investment in medical innovation, it is a strategic bet on the long term potential of human machine interaction.”
Li Xue, Founder of StairMed
