Qiangnao Technology

About Qiangnao Technology

Qiangnao Technology, also known as BrainCo, is a neurotechnology company that develops non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) products. Founded in 2015 by Han Bicheng while he was a PhD candidate at Harvard University's Center for Brain Science, the company was incubated in the Harvard Innovation Labs. Initially based in Somerville, Massachusetts, BrainCo moved its headquarters to Hangzhou, China in 2018.

The company's business model focuses on developing and commercializing BCI technology for the medical, wellness, and education markets. Its product line includes intelligent prosthetic limbs and wearable headbands that utilize electroencephalography (EEG) to monitor and analyze brain activity. One of its notable products is the BrainRobotics prosthetic hand, which interprets muscle and nerve signals to enable intuitive movement for amputees. This product was named one of Time Magazine's top 100 inventions of 2019 and received FDA certification in 2022. The company has also developed prosthetic legs and showcased a humanoid robot collaboration.

In the wellness sector, BrainCo has released several headbands such as FocusCalm for relaxation, Easleep for sleep improvement, and OxyZen for monitoring vitals to provide tailored meditation. An earlier product, Focus 1, was marketed to schools to measure student attention levels but faced controversy over privacy concerns, leading to a pivot towards wellness applications. The company also offers educational STEM kits like the NeuroMaker, a buildable prosthetic hand.

BrainCo has secured significant funding, including a $5.5 million seed round in 2016 and $15 million from investors in 2017. Reports from August 2025 indicated the company was seeking approximately $100 million in pre-IPO funding at a valuation of over $1.3 billion, with potential plans for an IPO in Hong Kong or mainland China. It is considered a unicorn in the brain-computer interface field in China.