Phantom Neuro grabs $19M to help amputees put their phantom limbs to use

Summary

The science fiction trope of humans superpowered by computer and bionic implants is fast becoming a reality, and today, a startup hoping for a role in how that plays out is announcing some funding. Phantom Neuro, which is developing a wristband-like device that gets implanted under the skin to let a person control prosthetic limbs, has raised $19 million to fund its next stage of development. The startup has already hit a few important milestones for a medical tech startup. It has received two FDA designations, one as a Breakthrough Device and for TAP. The latter is selective and is issued through the agency’s medical device accelerator program, designed to streamline Phantom’s “path to commercialization,” the company said. The company also has some operational wins. Its technology is built on the concept of the phantom limb — amputees often feel they still have a physical limb due to the nerve endings they still have that would have connected to that limb. Phantom claims that its “Phantom X” software, which lets its strip “read” those nerve impulses and translate them into the movement of the attached prosthetic, showed 94% accuracy across 11 hand and wrist movements in a recent non-invasive “ASCENT” study. Phantom says when the strip is implanted under the skin, the accuracy is even higher. The company claims that users can restore as much as 85% of functionality with just 10 minutes of calibration. Ottobock, a German maker of prosthetics and other medical devices, is leading the round as a strategic backer. Also participating were the company’s previous investors Breakout Ventures, Draper Associates, LionBird Ventures, Time BioVentures, and Risk and Return (aka Rsquared), plus new investors Actual VC, METIS Innovative, e1 Ventures, Jumpspace, MainSheet Ventures, and Brown Advisory. Other investors in the startup include Johns Hopkins and Intel. Phantom has raised $28 million to date and is not disclosing its valuation. From stress fractures to scaled impact Austi...