Gabe Newell’s Startup Starfish Neuroscience Aims to Unveil First Brain Chip by Late 2025

Valve CEO Gabe Newell, best known for his role in developing iconic games such as Half-Life, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike, as well as the popular PC game distribution platform Steam, has been fascinated by the concept of integrating human brains more closely with computers for over a decade. His interest began with in-house psychological studies aimed at understanding how players respond biologically to video games, including experiments with earlobe monitors for Valve’s early VR headset designs. In 2019, Newell’s company delved deeper into the realm of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) during a presentation at the Game Developers Conference (GDC). However, Newell decided to take this exploration further by spinning off a dedicated BCI startup, Starfish Neuroscience, which he founded the same year. Now, Starfish has announced its first major milestone: the production of its initial brain chip, expected to arrive by the end of 2025. In a recent blog post, spotted by Valve watcher Brad Lynch, Starfish Neuroengineer Nate Cermak clarified that the chip is not yet a complete brain implant. Instead, it is a custom “electrophysiology” chip designed to record brain activity and stimulate the brain, much like Neuralink's technology, which allows patients to interact with computers and receive therapeutic benefits. However, Starfish acknowledges that the infrastructure to power the chip and the methods to safely implant it are still under development. Cermak emphasized, “We anticipate our first chips arriving in late 2025, and we are interested in finding collaborators for whom such a chip would open new and exciting avenues.” This suggests that Starfish might partner with other firms to develop wireless power solutions and the final implant mechanisms. The primary goal of Starfish is to create a smaller, less invasive brain implant compared to existing technologies. Their chip uses only 1.1 milliwatts during normal recording, which is significantly lower than Neuralink’s N1 chip, which consumes around 6 milliwatts and requires periodic wireless charging. The full Neuralink implant, measuring approximately 23mm in width and 8mm in thickness, has already been implanted in three humans. Despite some detached threads in the first patient, the individual still retains functionality and continues to give interviews. Starfish’s chip is designed to enable simultaneous access to multiple brain regions, a feature that could be crucial for addressing complex neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. According to Cermak, “There is increasing evidence that numerous neurological disorders involve circuit-level dysfunction, where the interactions between different brain regions may be misregulated.” Beyond the brain chip, Starfish’s updated website highlights several other innovative projects in the works. These include a precision hyperthermia device for targeting and destroying tumors with heat, and a brain-reading, robotically guided transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) system for treating conditions like bipolar disorder and depression. For those curious about the potential applications of BCIs in gaming, Valve’s 2019 GDC talk on the subject provides some insights. The company explored how BCIs could enhance immersion, improve player experiences, and even revolutionize game design by directly interfacing with the player’s brain signals. In summary, Gabe Newell’s venture into brain-computer interfaces through Starfish Neuroscience promises significant advancements in the field. By focusing on smaller, less invasive, and more efficient technology, Starfish aims to pave the way for more effective treatments of neurological disorders and potentially bring BCI technology closer to practical applications in everyday life, including the realm of gaming.