MintNeuro, a pioneer of scalable, low-power semiconductor technology for neural implant applications, and Motif Neurotech, a therapeutic brain-computer interface (BCI) company developing miniature implants for mental health, today announced a new strategic partnership that will unite MintNeuro’s specialised neural interface chip technology with Motif’s clinical-stage therapeutic implant platform –accelerating the clinical availability of therapeutic BCIs for mental health conditions.
The collaboration gives Motif Neurotech access to the MintNeuro highly miniaturized, purpose-built sensing and stimulation integrated circuits, with chip development closely aligned to Motif’s clinical device roadmap. With this formal alliance, MintNeuro gains a direct pathway to clinical application, including real-world system validation and a continuous feedback loop on chip requirements from one of the most demanding device programmes in the sector. The partnership is underpinned by a multi-year commercial supply agreement, securing access to MintNeuro’s neural interface ICs for Motif’s pre-clinical, early clinical, and pivotal study phases.
Motif Neurotech is developing the world’s first fully implantable brain stimulating and recording technology designed to address mental health conditions, like depression and bipolar disorder. Motif recently received FDA approval to begin a US clinical trial to treat treatment-resistant depression. The DOT, a device roughly the size of a blueberry, can be placed in a 20-minute outpatient procedure without exposing or touching the brain. MintNeuro’s compact, ultra-low-power ICs enable the critical neural sensing and stimulation functions within the system, meeting the extreme miniaturisation requirements demanded by these next-generation devices. Advanced sensing capabilities enable continuous monitoring of neural activity during therapy and may provide clinicians with rapid feedback on stimulation parameter effectiveness, and risk of relapse, laying the foundation for transformative closed-loop therapeutic approaches.
The two companies have been closely collaborating for over a year, progressing from joint system architecture definition through to active hardware validation. MintNeuro’s sensing chip has already been successfully integrated into the Motif’s devices used in pre-clinical work. Going forward, the partnership roadmap will align successive MintNeuro chip generations with Motif’s clinical development programme, beginning with high-performance sensing and advancing toward fully integrated stimulation capability.
“MintNeuro is a core technology partner for Motif as we advance delivery of our BCI device roadmap,” said Steven Goetz, Chief Technology Officer of Motif Neurotech. “MintNeuro’s specialised ICs combine compact form factor, high performance and ultra-low power. These are the leading-edge capabilities needed to achieve our shared strategic vision of delivering neuromodulation therapy to the brain with the smallest and safest devices possible.”
“Every design decision we make is ultimately about how quickly and safely we can reach patients who have run out of options. MintNeuro’s technology has already proven itself in our pre-clinical work, and formalizing this partnership means we have a chip roadmap that’s tightly coupled to our clinical program,” said Jacob Robinson, Co-Founder and CEO, Motif Neurotech.
Dorian Haci, CEO and Co-Founder of MintNeuro added: “We really value working together with Motif to deliver world-first BCI-enabled therapies. Motif is a visionary partner that is pushing the boundaries of what is technically and clinically possible in this emerging space, and that is exactly the kind of collaboration our technology is built for. Our formal co-operation is also a clear signal that the treatment of mental health conditions is moving into a phase where scalable, chip-based platforms can start to be applied commercially at scale, and play a central role in enabling new therapies that can improve quality of life for patients everywhere.”
The partnership builds on successful project grants awarded to both companies as part of the UK government’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) Precision Neurotechnologies programme. The Brain Mesh project, a £4.7 million collaboration involving teams from both MintNeuro and Motif Neurotech, is developing distributed networks of ultra-small wireless neural implants for mental health applications. The ground-breaking work achieved under the project framework has accelerated MintNeuro’s chip miniaturisation roadmap and led Motif to establish a UK subsidiary that employs UK-based software engineers and data scientists that can work more closely with their UK partners.