Science Corporation Nets $230 Million Series C Funding

Science Corporation has closed an oversubscribed $230 million Series C financing round that will help accelerate the commercialization of its brain-computer interface (BCI) retinal implant, PRIMA.

The funding round included participation from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Y Combinator, IQT, and Quiet Capital, among others. This latest financing brings the company’s total capital raised to approximately $490 million since its 2021 founding.

“The strength and caliber of this syndicate reflects both the urgency of the problems we are addressing and the credibility of our execution so far,” Science Chief Strategy Officer Darius Shahida said. “With this capital, we are focused on commercialization and delivering real-world clinical impact. Our imperative is to become the first BCI company to scale and achieve profitability.”

In clinical trials, PRIMA was the only treatment to successfully restore form vision to patients blinded by late-stage macular degeneration. The PRIMA trial results were featured in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and on the cover of Time.

The capital will also support expansion of the company’s research, manufacturing, and operational infrastructure, as well as the continued advancement of its state-of-the-art Biohybrid neural interface technology and Vessel perfusion platform.

With the expected commercial launch of PRIMA later this year in Europe, Science claims it will be the first BCI company with a vision restoration product in the market. Science has a growing portfolio designed to address significant unmet clinical needs while advancing the frontier of BCIs. The Series C round coincides with strong investor demand, reflecting confidence in the company’s scientific depth, executive leadership, and long-term vision, according to executives.

“We are building a company which will offer patients hope beyond the limitations of traditional medicine,” Science Co-Founder/CEO Max Hodak stated. “By engaging the brain directly as an information processing organ, we are able to achieve much greater effect sizes and drive clinical impact. We are committed to research and new technologies that can provide treatment options where none existed before—and which will fundamentally change and improve lives.”

The company is also expanding its PRIMA clinical trial program to include other retinal diseases such as Stargardt disease and retinitis pigmentosa. These conditions are the leading causes of inherited retinal vision loss in young adults, affecting one in 10,000 and one in 4,000 people, respectively. The initial trial will be conducted by Dr. Matthew Simunovic, Ph.D., a leader in the field of retinal disease therapy and pioneer in prosthetic vision research, at the Sydney Eye Hospital in Australia.

Results from the earlier landmark PRIMA clinical trial in Europe showed the implant could restore functional central vision, effectively working as artificial photoreceptors in the retina. The trial evaluated the PRIMA system in 38 blinded patients with advanced dry age-related macular degeneration. The peer-reviewed original paper showed that 80% of patients demonstrated meaningful improvement of visual acuity and were able to read letters, numbers, and words.

Bolstered by these results, Science submitted a CE mark application to the European Union. In parallel, the company has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for regulatory approval.

Science Corporation is a vertically integrated, full stack neural engineering company striving to transcend the limits of biology. The company is developing advanced brain-computer interface technologies and devices to address critical unmet medical needs and, longer term, to transform the human condition through neural engineering and advanced perfusion technology. Science is headquartered in Alameda, Calif.