Valve Founder’s Neural Interface Company to Launch Inaugural Brain Chip This Year

Sure thing, here we go:

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Okay, so I was diving into this whole mind-bending tech scene, and guess what? Gabe Newell, you know, that dude from Valve, is up to something wild. His company, Starfish Neuroscience, they’re tinkering with this neural chip that might be sliding into our lives way sooner than we’d think.

Apparently, they dropped a blog bombshell about partnering with imec to whip up a super slick, low-power neural chip. And seriously, this chip’s like smoke — it’s wireless and battery-free! They’re aiming for it to read and poke around in our noggins at the same time. If that’s not sci-fi, what is?

The thing is, these implants we’ve got now? Kind of clunky, power-sucking monsters. Gabe’s gang wants to miniaturize these bad boys. Like, make surgery a walk in the park compared to, say, a root canal. Picture a chip just 2 by 4mm. Mind officially blown.

Ah, what the heck was I saying? Right, specs. I’m not a tech guy, but here’s the lowdown. They’re talking 32 electrodes, 16 channels, all sorts of jazzy stuff I barely grasp. I mean, wow, a current source for electrode pairs? Fancy. And it runs on what, TSMC’s 55nm process? Sure, if you say so.

But it’s the beginning — the dawn of an epic sci-fi era if Gabe has his way. He’s all “Matrix this, Matrix that”, which, honestly, I find vaguely alarming. In a good way? Maybe. Apparently fiddling with our brain’s motor functions sounds easier than making us shiver. Who knew? Oh, and the immune system has a say in if we feel cold or not. Random tidbit for your next party chat.

Meanwhile, before leaving Valve, Mike Ambinder, their lead brainy psychologist, was teasing some immersive game stuff using brain-computer interfaces. Imagine games reacting to your very thoughts! Though, getting reliable data? A journey, not a sprint, he claims.

Anyway, a nod to Brad ‘SadlyItsBradley’ Lynch for the scoop. Where we’re headed, folks, is a place where our brains could play bigger roles in tech, for real. Wild times ahead, hold on!

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