Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this episode of NYC Innovates, we go inside the cutting-edge world of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), technology that creates a direct link between the human brain and the digital world. For nearly 400,000 Americans living with severe paralysis, BCIs represent a potential lifeline, restoring their ability to communicate, work, and engage with the world around them.
At the center of the story is Precision Neuroscience, a New York-based company developing what may be one of the most consequential pieces of medical technology ever created: a cortical interface thinner than a strand of human hair, embedded with over 1,000 micro-electrodes that sit on the surface of the brain without penetrating it. Precision positions itself on the pillars of safety, reversibility, and high bandwidth, and as of filming, had implanted more patients than the rest of the BCI industry combined.
Finally, the episode tackles the deeper ethical questions this technology raises: who owns your neural data, what are the risks of "brain jacking," and how do we ensure equitable access to a technology that Morgan Stanley estimates could become a $400 billion market?
0:00 Introduction
1:12 What is a BCI?
2:54 Precision's mission to restore access
3:40 A deep dive into the Layer 7 cortical interface
4:47 Manufacturing process
5:38 How the AI layer works
6:35 How patients learn to use a BCI
7:26 The bandwidth argument
8:00 The competition: Neuralink and Synchrony
9:46 Scaling up
10:38 Regulatory landscape
11:53 Addressing fears about mind-reading and surveillance
12:49 The $400 billion market
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In this episode of NYC Innovates, we go inside the cutting-edge world of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), technology that creates a direct link between the human brain and the digital world. For nearly 400,000 Americans living with severe paralysis, BCIs represent a potential lifeline, restoring their ability to communicate, work, and engage with the world around them.
At the center of the story is Precision Neuroscience, a New York-based company developing what may be one of the most consequential pieces of medical technology ever created: a cortical interface thinner than a strand of human hair, embedded with over 1,000 micro-electrodes that sit on the surface of the brain without penetrating it. Precision positions itself on the pillars of safety, reversibility, and high bandwidth, and as of filming, had implanted more patients than the rest of the BCI industry combined.
Finally, the episode tackles the deeper ethical questions this technology raises: who owns your neural data, what are the risks of "brain jacking," and how do we ensure equitable access to a technology that Morgan Stanley estimates could become a $400 billion market?
0:00 Introduction
1:12 What is a BCI?
2:54 Precision's mission to restore access
3:40 A deep dive into the Layer 7 cortical interface
4:47 Manufacturing process
5:38 How the AI layer works
6:35 How patients learn to use a BCI
7:26 The bandwidth argument
8:00 The competition: Neuralink and Synchrony
9:46 Scaling up
10:38 Regulatory landscape
11:53 Addressing fears about mind-reading and surveillance
12:49 The $400 billion market
Connect with Cheddar!
On Facebook: facebook.com/cheddar
On Instagram: instagram.com/cheddar
On the web: cheddar.com
In your inbox: need2know.cheddar.com/subscribe
