Neuralink competitor Paradromics gears up to test its brain implant on humans

Neurotech startup Paradromics will be putting its brain implant on trial next year, as the race to be the leader in the nascent brain-computer interface space heats up.

"The brain is a super fascinating organ. We have about 85 billion neurons and every neuron is a million times slower than a computer chip. And yet, the brain does incredible things," said Matt Angle, CEO and founder of Paradromics, in an interview with "CNBC Tech: The Edge."

"What that means is that if you want to get data in and out of the brain, you have to be able to talk to a ton of different neurons simultaneously. And that's where the emphasis on building these high-speed, high-data-rate devices came from," he added.

The trial would follow competitor Neuralink's move to implant a chip into a patient's brain in March. The company, which was cofounded by Elon Musk, later disclosed that part of its brain implant malfunctioned in the weeks following the procedure.

Paradromics, which was founded in 2015, has secured $87 million in venture investment and $18 million in public funding to date. The Austin, Texas-based startup anticipates the devices will retail for about $100,000 each.

"Paradromics' mission is to transform otherwise untreatable health conditions in brain health into solvable technology problems. We're fundamentally building a medical device to serve unmet needs," Angle said.

While Angle anticipates the device will be able to treat a wide range of conditions, Paradromics will be focusing on patients who have lost their ability to communicate first, whether that be due to paralysis, diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, or spinal injury.

"The reason we've chosen to focus on motor and speech is because these are well