Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Marcus Gerhardt, CEO of Blackrock Neurotech, on brain implants for healthy people and the path to FDA clearance.
In 2007 Florian Solzbacher called with a plan to put a chip in the human brain. Marcus Gerhardt thought he was nuts and said yes anyway. Blackrock Neurotech has since implanted 56 people and gathered 55,000 patient days of brain data, more than any competitor. With Sascha Roehrer, Gerhardt walks through the Utah array, cutting calibration from nine months to minutes, how the company compares with Neuralink, and the design turn behind its next platform: it is built for able-bodied people, not only for tetraplegic patients. Also: why the FDA slows down new materials, how Casey, who has ALS, speaks with his children again at close to 100 characters per minute — and why Gerhardt now considers an implant for himself.
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:53 The 2007 call: "I thought he was nuts"
00:03:00 2008: the worst-performing sector in VC history
00:04:46 Profitable in nine months instead of three years
00:07:29 What a brain-computer interface actually does
00:10:37 The Utah array: 4x4 millimeters, about 100 pins
00:11:59 Eleven years implanted: longevity as the core problem
00:14:10 The turn: building for healthy people, not only patients
00:15:46 Nine months or minutes — the calibration problem
00:20:22 Casey, ALS: close to 100 characters per minute
00:22:03 Neuralink, 2,000 channels — and the 100,000 goal
00:23:59 Clearance: the five-year horizon
00:28:00 FDA, CE and why new materials get slowed down
00:30:54 AI in the lab and a foundation model for the brain
00:33:23 The Matrix question: downloading a language?
00:35:28 Diagnostics and personalized medicine
00:36:44 The surgery today: craniotomy, several hours
00:38:40 Privacy: control over your own brain data
00:39:45 Salt Lake City, just over 100 people, Europe
00:42:00 Tether as an investor
00:43:21 Competition and collaboration at once
00:46:17 The BCI pioneers: Ian, Nathan, Casey, Michi
00:49:49 Market size: up to three billion people
00:52:26 The wildest prediction for the next 20 years
00:54:56 The guest turns the question around
00:57:28 A fruit fly's brain, running in a computer
Guest:
Marcus Gerhardt is CEO and co-founder of Blackrock Neurotech in Salt Lake City. He studied at St Andrews and Oxford, co-founded the e-commerce platform Mondus in 1999, then advised technology companies on funding and growth through BBI, and in 2003 co-founded one of the leading frontier market asset managers in the Middle East. Since 2008 he has been building the interface between brain and machine with Florian Solzbacher.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/marcus-gerhardt-1583524
Website: blackrockneurotech.com
deeptech Insights:
deeptech INSIGHTS is a long-form interview series for people who think about frontier technology and the future for a living. Host Sascha Roehrer sits down with executives, investors, researchers, and the people shaping what comes next. Produced by Börsenmedien AG, Germany's leading financial media house (DER AKTIONÄR, BÖRSE ONLINE, €uro, €uro am Sonntag).
Youtube English: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGwe6Ab4ZdSc
Youtube German: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYvuwOqohiSw
Spotify English: open.spotify.com/show/033ONjPa8CuRZwJ0wZyWPz?si=c6fe9d33623e4418
Spotify German: open.spotify.com/show/033ONlTEHwbLHanLrQ6SeC?si=738da62560ed4cd7
Guest suggestions & feedback: team@deeptech-report.de
This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
Marcus Gerhardt, CEO of Blackrock Neurotech, on brain implants for healthy people and the path to FDA clearance.
In 2007 Florian Solzbacher called with a plan to put a chip in the human brain. Marcus Gerhardt thought he was nuts and said yes anyway. Blackrock Neurotech has since implanted 56 people and gathered 55,000 patient days of brain data, more than any competitor. With Sascha Roehrer, Gerhardt walks through the Utah array, cutting calibration from nine months to minutes, how the company compares with Neuralink, and the design turn behind its next platform: it is built for able-bodied people, not only for tetraplegic patients. Also: why the FDA slows down new materials, how Casey, who has ALS, speaks with his children again at close to 100 characters per minute — and why Gerhardt now considers an implant for himself.
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:53 The 2007 call: "I thought he was nuts"
00:03:00 2008: the worst-performing sector in VC history
00:04:46 Profitable in nine months instead of three years
00:07:29 What a brain-computer interface actually does
00:10:37 The Utah array: 4x4 millimeters, about 100 pins
00:11:59 Eleven years implanted: longevity as the core problem
00:14:10 The turn: building for healthy people, not only patients
00:15:46 Nine months or minutes — the calibration problem
00:20:22 Casey, ALS: close to 100 characters per minute
00:22:03 Neuralink, 2,000 channels — and the 100,000 goal
00:23:59 Clearance: the five-year horizon
00:28:00 FDA, CE and why new materials get slowed down
00:30:54 AI in the lab and a foundation model for the brain
00:33:23 The Matrix question: downloading a language?
00:35:28 Diagnostics and personalized medicine
00:36:44 The surgery today: craniotomy, several hours
00:38:40 Privacy: control over your own brain data
00:39:45 Salt Lake City, just over 100 people, Europe
00:42:00 Tether as an investor
00:43:21 Competition and collaboration at once
00:46:17 The BCI pioneers: Ian, Nathan, Casey, Michi
00:49:49 Market size: up to three billion people
00:52:26 The wildest prediction for the next 20 years
00:54:56 The guest turns the question around
00:57:28 A fruit fly's brain, running in a computer
Guest:
Marcus Gerhardt is CEO and co-founder of Blackrock Neurotech in Salt Lake City. He studied at St Andrews and Oxford, co-founded the e-commerce platform Mondus in 1999, then advised technology companies on funding and growth through BBI, and in 2003 co-founded one of the leading frontier market asset managers in the Middle East. Since 2008 he has been building the interface between brain and machine with Florian Solzbacher.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/marcus-gerhardt-1583524
Website: blackrockneurotech.com
deeptech Insights:
deeptech INSIGHTS is a long-form interview series for people who think about frontier technology and the future for a living. Host Sascha Roehrer sits down with executives, investors, researchers, and the people shaping what comes next. Produced by Börsenmedien AG, Germany's leading financial media house (DER AKTIONÄR, BÖRSE ONLINE, €uro, €uro am Sonntag).
Youtube English: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGwe6Ab4ZdSc
Youtube German: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYvuwOqohiSw
Spotify English: open.spotify.com/show/033ONjPa8CuRZwJ0wZyWPz?si=c6fe9d33623e4418
Spotify German: open.spotify.com/show/033ONlTEHwbLHanLrQ6SeC?si=738da62560ed4cd7
Guest suggestions & feedback: team@deeptech-report.de
This episode is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
