The OpenAI Startup Fund and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund have backed Coherence Neuro in a $45 million seed funding round to develop bioelectronic brain implants that detect and treat brain cancer. Coherence Neuro's coin-sized implant, SOMA, reads electrical signals from tumors and delivers therapeutic stimulation. Following preliminary testing in three surgical patients at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Coherence Neuro is expanding trials to prepare for chronic long-term implants in glioblastoma patients.
Coherence Neuro funding rounds
- ▪Coherence Neuro raised a $45 million seed funding round backed by OpenAI's venture capital arm, the OpenAI Startup Fund, and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.
- ▪Coherence Neuro previously closed a $10 million seed funding round disclosed in November 2025 led by Artesian and Topology Ventures, with Blackbird participating.
SOMA implant design and preclinical testing
- ▪San Francisco-based Coherence Neuro is developing a coin-sized bioelectronic brain implant named SOMA designed to detect and treat brain cancer.
- ▪Preclinical mouse trials demonstrated that Coherence Neuro's bioelectronic device could distinguish healthy brain tissue from tissue carrying a tumor by detecting electrical signals.
Human trials of Coherence Neuro's implant
- ▪Coherence Neuro is evaluating both recording and electrical stimulation capabilities of its brain implant in an additional seven trial patients.
- ▪Coherence Neuro plans to launch clinical trials installing chronic long-term brain implants in patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.
- ▪In mid-2026, Coherence Neuro tested a temporary version of its brain implant for 30 minutes in three patients during surgery at Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Coherence Neuro CEO on data privacy and AI
- ▪Coherence Neuro CEO Ben Woodington stated that OpenAI will not have access or contract rights to any brain or health data generated by Coherence Neuro.
- ▪Coherence Neuro CEO Ben Woodington stated that artificial intelligence models are required to process the massive datasets produced by brain-computer interfaces.
Prior BCI investments by OpenAI and Founders Fund
- ▪Peter Thiel's Founders Fund has backed brain-computer interface companies including Elon Musk's Neuralink and CTRL-labs prior to its 2019 acquisition by Facebook.
- ▪In January 2026, OpenAI invested in a $252 million initial funding round for Merge Labs to develop ultrasound-based brain-computer interface technology.
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