While companies like Neuralink focus on developing surgical brain-computer interfaces, Chinese BrainCo is moving towards a less invasive option, based on wearable technologies such as smart headbands and caps.

BrainCo devices read neural signals through the scalp, eliminating the need for any surgical intervention and making the technology more accessible for daily use.

The company, founded in Hangzhou in 2015 with support from Harvard Innovation Labs, develops medical and consumer products in multiple fields.

Among its notable products is a prosthetic hand that has FDA approval and uses neural and muscular signals to move the fingers according to the user's will.

In addition to medical products, BrainCo offers consumer devices such as headbands for sleep aid that use low-intensity electrical pulses targeting the brain chemistry related to stress.

BrainCo adopts a strategy that starts by proving effectiveness in the medical field, then later transfers the technologies to products for daily life.

Unlike surgical models that require implanting electrodes in the brain, BrainCo relies on non-invasive devices, a trend that still dominates nearly 82% of the brain-computer interface market in China.

The company enjoys strong support from official entities and local investors, having raised nearly 2 billion yuan so far, and seeks to list its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

STEM President works on electronic brain chip project competing with Neuralink.

The company's experiment in schools raised societal questions about privacy, when headbands were used to measure students' attention in a school, which met with sharp criticism and ended with the experiment being halted by educational authorities.

This incident illustrates the ethical challenges associated with large-scale collection of neural data, especially as these devices become easier to deploy in everyday environments without clear consent from individuals.

The future of using brain-reading technologies remains tied to the existence of clear regulatory frameworks, as debate continues over the boundaries between medical and consumer use.

While surgical companies continue to make media headlines, wearable head devices seem poised to become the daily presence of artificial brain technologies.