Gabe Newell, founder and CEO of Valve, the company behind some of the biggest video games in history, like Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, as well as the creators of the massive PC gaming platform Steam, is making notable strides in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology through his start-up, Starfish Neuroscience.
Starfish Neuroscience, which was founded by Newell alongside Philip Sabes in 2022, is expected to launch its first brain chip later this year.
As per a recent blog post from the company, the brain chip won’t be a full-fledged implant but a custom “electrophysiology” device that can read brain activity and stimulate the brain.
“We believe there is an opportunity to develop a new class of minimally invasive, distributed neural interfaces that enable simultaneous access to multiple brain regions,” Starfish engineer Nate Cermak said in a statement. “We’re working to build new technologies that allow for recording and stimulation of neural activity with a level of precision vastly exceeding what is possible with currently available systems.”
Starfish Neuroscience Brain Chip Spec Sheet
In the blog post, the company also unveiled the current specifications for its first brain chip. Take a look at them below:
- Low power: 1.1 mW total power consumption during normal recording
- Physically small: 2 x 4mm (0.3mm pitch BGA)
- Capable of both recording (spikes and LFP) & stimulation (biphasic pulses)
- 32 electrode sites, 16 simultaneous recording channels at 18.75 kHz
- 1 current source for stimulating an arbitrary pair of electrodes
- Onboard impedance monitoring and stim voltage transient measurement
- Digital onboard data processing and spike detection allow the device to operate via low-bandwidth wireless interfaces.
- Fabricated in TSMC 55nm process
Starfish claims that connecting multiple regions of the brain simultaneously, rather than focusing on a single area, could offer new solutions for conditions like Parkinson’s disease.
According to its updated website, the company is also developing a “precision hyperthermia device” to destroy tumors using targeted heat, along with a robotically guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) system aimed at treating neurological disorders such as bipolar disorder and depression.
As confirmed by Starfish, it plans on launching its first brain chip towards the end of 2025. The company also states that it is “interested in finding collaborators for whom such a chip would open new and exciting avenues.”