Max Hodak’s Science Corp. is preparing to place its first sensor in a human brain

Science Corporation, the startup from former Neuralink president and co-founder Max Hodak, has enlisted a top neurobiologist to lead the first U.S. human trials for its biohybrid brain-computer interface.

Dr. Murat Günel, chair of Yale Medical School’s Department of Neurosurgery, has signed on as a scientific adviser after two years of discussions. His goal is to surgically place the first sensor for a future interface — one that will eventually combine lab-grown neurons with electronics — into a patient’s brain.

Science, founded in 2021, completed a $230 million Series C fundraising round last month that valued the company at $1.5 billion. Its most advanced product is PRIMA, a device for restoring vision in people with blindness caused by macular degeneration and similar conditions. Science acquired the technology in 2024 and has advanced it through clinical trials, with plans to make it more widely available in Europe once regulatory approval is obtained, perhaps as soon as this year.

Hodak, however, co-founded the company with a bigger vision in mind: creating reliable communication links between computers and the human brain — both to treat disease and to establish a path toward human enhancement, such as adding entirely new senses to the body. He has dedicated his career to that proposition, from talking his way into a graduate neuroscience lab as a college student, to founding his first biotech computing startup, to building Neuralink alongside Elon Musk.

Neuralink and other organizations have succeeded in using electronic sensors to detect brain activity in patients suffering from ALS, spinal injuries, and other conditions that sever the brain’s communication with the body. Users with implanted devices can control computers or generate words on a screen simply by thinking about them. However, the path to a real market for these devices remains murky, given regulatory challenges and the relatively small number of patients with applicable diagnoses.

For his part, Hodak concluded that the conventional method of influencing the brain with electricity by using metal probes or electrodes is the wrong path forward. While the technology can achieve remarkable results, Günel says these probes cause brain damage that is likely to undermine device performance over time. That limitation led the Science founding team toward a more organic approach.

“The idea of using natural connections through neurons and creating a biological interface between the electronics and the human brain is genius,” Günel told TechCrunch.

Alan Mardinly, a co-founder and the company’s chief science officer, has led development of Science’s biohybrid sensor with a team of 30 researchers. The final device will be embedded with lab-grown neurons. Those neurons can be stimulated with pulses of light and are designed to naturally integrate with the neurons in a patient’s brain, forming a bridge between biology and electronics. In 2024, the company released a working paper that showed the device could be safely implanted in mice and used to stimulate brain activity.

Inside the company, the focus now is developing prototypes of the device and working out how to grow neuron cells for different therapeutic applications that meet the standards for medical use.

Günel will advise the team as it is preparing for human clinical trials and is already in discussion with the medical ethics boards that oversee experiments involving human subjects. The first step will be testing the company’s advanced sensor, without the embedded neurons, inside a living human brain.

Unlike a Neuralink device, which is inserted directly into brain tissue, Science’s sensor will be implanted inside the skull but rest on top of the brain. Possibly because of that distinction, the company says it doesn’t plan to seek FDA approval for these trials, arguing the tiny device — which contains 520 recording electrodes packed into an area the size of a pea — poses no significant risk to patients.

The team’s plan is to find patient candidates who already require significant brain surgery, like stroke victims who need a piece of their cranium removed to reduce the impact of brain swelling. In such a case, Günel expects to place the sensor on top of their cortex and evaluate its safety and efficacy in measuring brain activity.

Günel believes the device could help address multiple neurological conditions if it proves successful. One early use could be delivering gentle electrical stimulation to damaged brain or spinal cord cells to encourage healing. A more complex application might involve monitoring neurological activity in patients with brain tumors, and providing early warnings to caregivers about oncoming seizures.

If the full potential of these devices is realized, though, Günel wonders if they might provide more effective treatments for conditions like Parkinson’s disease, a progressive disorder that gradually robs patients of control over their bodies. Current treatment options include experimental brain cell transplants and deep brain stimulation with electricity, but neither has been proven to reliably stop the disease from advancing.

“I imagine this biohybrid system as combining those two — you have the electronics, and you have the biological system,” he told TechCrunch. “In Parkinson’s, for example, we cannot stop the progression of the disease; in neurosurgery, all we are doing is putting an electrode to stop the tremors. Whereas if you can really put the [transplanted] cells back in the brain, protect those circuits, there’s a chance, and I believe it’s a good chance, that we can stop progression of the disease.”

There is much work to be done before then, however. Günel says it would be “optimistic” to expect trials to begin in 2027.

Recommended related domains:

BrainMachine.tech

• The “Science Corp” Connection: The article highlights Science Corp’s unique approach: using lab-grown neurons to form a biological interface. This is the essence of a “Brain Machine” — a system where biology and mechanics are indistinguishable.
• Why this domain? BrainMachine.tech is the most authentic and technically accurate name for this new wave of innovation. While .com domains often feel corporate, the .tech extension here signifies cutting-edge R&D and engineering. It is perfect for a startup focused on the core technology of “biohybrid sensors” or “neuron-electronics integration.” As Hodak moves toward human trials, this domain captures the experimental, transformative nature of building machines that are part biological, part mechanical.

AIBrainMachine.com

• The “Cognitive” Imperative: While Science Corp focuses on the biological substrate, the end goal is often AI-driven cognition and control. The article mentions the potential to “establish a path toward human enhancement.”
• Why this domain? AIBrainMachine.com is the ultimate commercial asset for this space. It combines the three most powerful keywords in the industry (“AI,” “Brain,” “Machine”) into one authoritative .com. It is ideal for a platform that provides the software or middleware for these biohybrid systems — the “operating system” for brain-machine interfaces. With high SEO potential for terms like “AI Brain” and “Machine Learning,” this domain is poised to become the default hub for enterprises looking to apply these technologies beyond healthcare, into areas like cognitive augmentation and AGI development.

The Medical & Cognitive Duo：

• MedNeuroAI.com: The Clinical Authority. While “Brain Machine” focuses on the engineering, MedNeuroAI.com owns the medical application. It is the perfect name for a clinic, diagnostic tool, or FDA-regulated software that uses AI to treat neurological conditions (like the Parkinson’s treatment mentioned in the article). It sounds institutional and trustworthy — ideal for gaining patient and regulatory trust.
  ThinkNeuroAI.com: The Cognitive Experience. This domain captures the “output” of the brain-machine interface: Thought. It is ideal for consumer-facing neurotech, mental health diagnostics, or AI that simulates human cognition. It suggests a focus on the “user experience” of the brain-machine connection rather than the hardware itself.

Source:https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/14/max-hodaks-science-corp-is-preparing-to-place-its-first-sensor-in-a-human-brain/