There’s tech that helps people connect. Then there’s tech that helps people feel. Phantom Neuro isn’t building gadgets. They’re engineering second chances, one neural signal at a time.
Founded by Dr. Connor Glass, a microsurgical specialist who spent his time at Johns Hopkins Hospital stitching nerve endings and studying the fragile handshake between biology and machine, Phantom Neuro came out of pain and possibility. When most folks looked at neural interfaces as science fiction, Glass saw an opportunity hiding in plain sight: a minimally invasive, outpatient neural implant that doesn’t mess with your brain but taps directly into your body’s natural wiring. Think Iron Man meets outpatient surgery.
Fast forward to today, and Phantom locked in a $19M Series A to keep the momentum moving and it’s got weight. Ottobock, the German powerhouse behind some of the world’s most advanced prosthetics, is leading the round. Not as a courtesy nod from the old guard, but because Phantom is shaping the kind of future Ottobock wants in on. Returning backers like Breakout Ventures, Draper Associates, LionBird, Time BioVentures, and Rsquared VC clearly saw the vision early. And now, new faces, Actual VC, METIS Innovative, E1 Ventures, Jumpspace Ventures, Mainsheet Ventures, and Brown Advisory are joining the movement.
Here’s what makes Phantom different. While most neurotech tries to brute-force brain machine control with invasive skull drills and six-figure hardware, Phantom X, Phantom’s flagship platform, sits beneath the skin. No deep-brain spelunking. Just clean, scalable, outpatient-friendly sensors that decode motor intent with 94% accuracy. That’s not marketing fluff. That’s what they pulled off in the ASCENT study, using their AI-driven decoding tech to restore up to 85% of hand and wrist functionality after just 10 minutes of calibration. We’re talking natural control, not Frankenstein limb flailing.
That’s why the FDA fast-tracked them with both Breakthrough Device and TAP designations. That’s why Blackrock Neurotech is not just a strategic investor but a research partner. And that’s why they’ve built a deep bench of advisors from CTRL-labs, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and Johns Hopkins, plus real-world warriors like stuntwoman Olivia Jackson, Nick Lavery, and johnny matheny, the first man to live with a thought-controlled bionic arm.
The game plan? Human trials. Regulatory submissions. A deep push into commercial partnerships via Ottobock. From upper limb to lower limb, and eventually into the kind of robotics and human augmentation most people only read about in Wired.
Dr. Glass and his team, including Aurel Bouvier, PhD and Erik Lloyd, aren’t chasing hype, they’re building systems that restore agency. Phantom doesn’t decode motion. It decodes what makes us human.
Let’s keep the momentum going across the tech ecosystem. Whether you’re a founder shaping the future, a leader driving change, a VC backing bold ideas, or an investor spotting the next big thing, together, we’re pushing boundaries. Proud to be building the future with you.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn and keep the conversation going.