RegionsWhere is it happening?
A global field, read region by region
Where brain-computer interfaces are being researched, tested, funded and authorised. Each of the eight reports says what the data shows for its region, and just as plainly what we cannot yet see there.
The regions are deliberately unequal. The aim is to remove the bias of looking only where English-language sources point, not to give every region the same space. Data as of 8 Oct 2026.
Eight reports
Regional reports
North America
AcceleratingThe largest concentration of venture-funded implant companies and registered feasibility studies, built on two decades of academic intracortical research.
- 656
- works, 2025
- 18%
- of world
- 66
- studies open
- 18
- profiled
Read the report
Europe
Growing steadilyOrganised around university hospitals, public institutes and consortia more than around venture rounds, with a long record in fully implanted and epidural systems and in non-invasive BCI products that are already certified and sold.
- 798
- works, 2025
- 21%
- of world
- 36
- studies open
- 10
- profiled
Read the report
China
SlowingThe largest publisher of BCI research, and since March 2026 the first country to register an implanted BCI for sale.
- 1,120
- works, 2025
- 30%
- of world
- 21
- studies open
- 7
- profiled
Read the report
Japan
AcceleratingAn established academic field, now carrying a wireless implant toward a first company-sponsored trial.
- 82
- works, 2025
- 2%
- of world
- 0
- studies open
- 2
- profiled
Read the report
South Korea
AcceleratingA mid-sized publisher of BCI research, with implant programmes only beginning.
- 126
- works, 2025
- 3%
- of world
- 0
- studies open
- 1
- profiled
Read the report
Australia / New Zealand
AcceleratingA small research base with an outsized clinical first: the first-in-human study of an endovascular BCI was run in Melbourne.
- 89
- works, 2025
- 2%
- of world
- 2
- studies open
- 1
- profiled
Read the report
Rest of Asia-Pacific
AcceleratingA fast-growing share of the published literature, led by India. We profile no organisations here yet.
- 433
- works, 2025
- 12%
- of world
- 4
- studies open
- 0
- profiled
Read the report
Middle East, Latin America and Africa
Growing steadilyA steady share of the published literature, spread across the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. We profile one organisation here, and it is not a BCI company.
- 318
- works, 2025
- 9%
- of world
- 2
- studies open
- 1
- profiled
Read the report
The whole picture
Global BCI map
Companies, studies, research output, capital, regulatory milestones and patent filings, from 2010 to today. Change the layer, zoom to a region, move through time.
Profiled companies at their headquarters, from the year each was founded.
37 marks on the companies layer in 2026. Hover a mark, or use the list.
Marks are records, not decoration. Country marks sit at the centre of the country, not at an institution. Mark area follows the count, so a few large countries dominate; use the region zoom to read the rest. 3 profiled companies have not disclosed a location and are not placed. 36 countries with a small number of works have no position recorded and are not drawn. Clinical counts come from ClinicalTrials.gov and under-count studies outside the United States.
Side by side
Regions compared
Research is read from all eight regions in the same way. Studies, companies and capital reflect what our sources reach, which is not the same everywhere. Figures are for 2025.
| Region | Works, 2025 | Share of world | Research trajectory | Studies open | Companies profiled | Disclosed capital |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 656 | 18% | Accelerating+10% a year, +6% before | 66 | 18 | $2.31B |
| Europe | 798 | 21% | Growing steadily+10% a year, +12% before | 36 | 10 | $58M |
| China | 1,120 | 30% | Slowing+26% a year, +36% before | 21 | 7 | $529M |
| Japan | 82 | 2% | Accelerating+14% a year, −1% before | 0 | 2 | $2M |
| South Korea | 126 | 3% | Accelerating+15% a year, +6% before | 0 | 1 | – |
| Australia / New Zealand | 89 | 2% | Accelerating+16% a year, 0% before | 2 | 1 | – |
| Rest of Asia-Pacific | 433 | 12% | Accelerating+24% a year, +11% before | 4 | 0 | – |
| Middle East, Latin America and Africa | 318 | 9% | Growing steadily+15% a year, +14% before | 2 | 1 | – |