2025 World Internet Conference Distinguished Contribution Award

Social Contribution award-winning enterprise: BrainCo

Founded in 2015, BrainCo is the first Chinese team to be admitted to the Harvard Innovation Lab and it's a global leader in non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. 

The company focuses on the independent development of core BCI technologies and application-driven innovation, with a long-term commitment to bringing brain-computer interface technology out of the laboratory and into everyday life — delivering tangible benefits to people all around the world.

To date, BrainCo has invested about 2.9 billion yuan ($400 million) in research and development, building a comprehensive technology chain that spans brainwave and neural signal acquisition as well as AI-based signal decoding. 

The company holds more than 270 core invention patents in the BCI field, ranking among global leaders. Driven by sustained innovation and successful industrialization, BrainCo has been selected as a winning business entity in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's AI medical device innovation task list and recognized as a national-level "Little Giant" enterprise specializing in advanced and emerging technologies.

As a pioneer in non-invasive BCI technology, BrainCo launched the world's first mass-produced intelligent bionic hand capable of intuitive neural control. 

The product was named in TIME magazine's list of the TIME Best Inventions and has received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration. 

Building on its breakthroughs in upper-limb rehabilitation, BrainCo subsequently introduced an intelligent bionic leg, offering lower-limb amputees greater freedom of movement. 

At the opening ceremony of the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, an athlete wearing BrainCo's intelligent bionic hand lit the cauldron — an iconic moment that vividly demonstrated the power of brain-computer interface technology to enhance human life.

In the rehabilitation sector, BrainCo has developed the Kaixingguo Brain-Computer Interface Social Communication Training System and the Zhuanxinxin Brain-Computer Interface Attention Training System — supporting children with autism and attention deficits in improving their social interaction and focus. For the aging population, the company has introduced the Naolixin Cognitive Rehabilitation Training System, designed to help prevent cognitive decline among seniors.

In the consumer health space, BrainCo applies brain-computer interface technology to everyday scenarios, launching products such as its Deep Dolphin Brain-Computer Interface Intelligent Sleep Device and its OxyZen Rest and Relaxation System. By combining EEG monitoring with artificial intelligence algorithms, these products provide solutions for sleep improvement and stress relief, bringing brain-computer interface technology into ordinary households.

BrainCo continues to expand its global presence, with research and operations centers established in Hangzhou and Shenzhen in China and  Boston and Austin in the US. As brain-computer interface technology becomes an important driver of new productive forces, BrainCo remains committed to its mission of "Unlocking More Possibilities for Life Through Brain-Computer Technology".

The company will continue to advance the application of BCI technology across rehabilitation, healthcare and human–machine interactions — making technology more human-centered and innovation more meaningful.

From the laboratory to everyday life, BrainCo is helping shape the future of brain-computer interface technology through Chinese innovation.

In 2024, the World Internet Conference established the WIC Distinguished Contribution Award to recognize individuals and enterprises that have made outstanding contributions in global internet-related fields. 

To date, 12 leading figures and 26 well-known business enterprises from around the world have received the award.

For enterprises, the award features three categories — Social Contribution, Innovation Breakthrough, and Growth Potential. 

The awarded companies span a wide range of sectors — including internet platforms, mobile communications, artificial intelligence, chip designs, energy and power and cybersecurity. 

Together, they depict a diverse and thriving internet ecosystem, encouraging more outstanding enterprises to engage in the development of the internet and to jointly explore the limitless possibilities of the digital future.