This Week in Startups: Are Brain-Computer Interfaces Actually Ready for Humans?

Date: March 16, 2026
Host: Jason Calacanis (Alex standing in for Jason)
Episode Theme:
Exploring cutting-edge innovation in brain-computer interfaces (BCI) with Paradromics, radical sustainable aircraft with Jet Zero, and transformational health tracking with Nutrisense. The episode focuses on the intersection of technology and human experience: how new hardware and software can revolutionize our bodies, our mobility, and our well-being.

1. Paradromics: The Future of Brain-Computer Interfaces (00:55 – 27:24)

Main Theme:

Alex interviews Matt Engel, founder and CEO of Paradromics, about the current state and future of implantable BCIs, their applications for people with severe disabilities, and their potential to augment healthy humans as the technology matures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. How Do The Paradromics BCIs Work?

• Implantable Device:

  • The Paradromics Connexus BCI is implanted in the brain, featuring microwire electrodes smaller than a human hair that sit near neurons to record their activity.
  • Provides high signal resolution for a “microphone at a crowded cocktail party” approach: “It's almost like dropping microphones into a crowded cocktail party. So we record the voices of neurons that are in close proximity to our electrode.”
    — Matt Engel (04:29)

• Translation from Signal to Action:

  • The device records neural signals, especially in the motor cortex.
  • By training on paired activities (“try to say this sentence”), decoders can learn to interpret intent, such as speech attempts, and translate brain signals to computer commands or synthesized speech.

• AI & Language Models Boosting Progress:

  • AI, particularly large language models (LLMs), are crucial:
    “If you have a noisy signal of what someone's trying to say, [LLMs] allow you to use the system even faster, incur some errors, and then go back and fix the errors or even sort of predict prospectively what someone's going to say.”
    — Matt (06:00)

B. Beyond Speech—Motor Control and Dreams

• Robotic Limb Control:

  • BCIs can be used to control robotic limbs, leveraging the predictability of motor sequences.
  • Predictive models similar to those used in speech decoding are applied for motor decoding.

• Potential to “See” Dreams:

  • If electrodes are in the right brain areas, and enough data is captured, it may be possible to reconstruct sensory experiences—even dreams—from brain activity.
    “To the extent that you experience your dream, it is fundamentally just neural activity... when we're recording from a sheep's auditory cortex, we can know what the sheep is hearing by decoding the brain activity.”
    — Matt (08:06)

C. Clinical Status and Road to Market

• Regulatory Progress:

  • As of November 2025, Paradromics has an FDA Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) for Connexus, allowing clinical studies.
  • First human implants are “imminent” — within four to eight weeks (09:38).

• Surgical Details and User Experience:

  • The process: incision in the scalp, puck-sized device placed on the brain, wired under the skin to a battery device in the chest (akin to a pacemaker).
  • All components are under the skin; power is supplied wirelessly via a vest and data is transmitted via infrared.

• Aspirations for Enhancement:

  • Paradromics intends for abilities restored to people with disabilities to ultimately enhance healthy humans, e.g., direct AI prompting by thought.

D. Mental Health Monitoring — “Tempo” Product

• Goals:

  • Moving beyond speech/motor impairment, aiming to objectively monitor cognitive states—like mood and mental health—by reading brain activity in real time.
  • Higher data rates (more electrodes/“pixels”) allow richer, more reliable brain state monitoring.
  • Could revolutionize diagnosis and personalize treatment (much like continuous glucose monitors changed diabetes management).

• Vision for the Future:

  • Paradromics is planning rapid iteration, with each product cycle doubling data capacity.
  • Five-year horizon: “people in all different application areas in mental illness, degrees of paralysis will have next generation devices... you'll see people using BCIs to control exoskeletons, robotic prosthetics, reading out cognitive states associated with psychiatric conditions, reading out mood states associated with mood disorders.”
    — Matt (22:13)

E. Societal and Regulatory Barriers

• Pricing, Access, and Reimbursement:
  • Real challenge: securing reimbursement—CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and insurance uptake will strongly dictate adoption and equity of access.
  • The Veterans Affairs and military are likely early customers due to their structure and funding, plus DARPA origins of the basic research.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “You help people, but at the same time you also open up this amazing aperture of enhancing human capabilities.”
  — Alex (13:21)
• “We want them to come out of the operating room not just with some restored function, but if we can give them superpowers on the other side, that's great too.”
  — Matt (13:47)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Mechanics of BCI & Cocktail Party Analogy: (02:33–04:29)
• AI and BCI Decoding: (05:42–06:43)
• Regulatory Status and Clinical Trials: (08:55–09:38)
• Surgery Process/Implant Details: (11:00–12:13)
• Mental Health Monitoring with Tempo: (14:35–18:46)
• Barriers of Access/Insurance: (23:52–26:05)

2. Jet Zero: Reinventing the Airplane with Blended Wing Bodies (28:04 – 55:30)

Main Theme:

Interview with Tom O’Leary, co-founder and CEO of Jet Zero, on their efforts to build radically more efficient commercial aircraft with the blended wing body (BWB) design.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. What is a Blended Wing Body (BWB)?

• Definition & Physics:

  • All-wing or BWB spreads lift across the entire wingspan, blending the fuselage into the wings, which yields lower drag and higher lift.
    “These terms are basically a physics first, first principles way of solving for the most optimized airframe...”
    — Tom (28:16)

• Enabling Technologies:

  • The BWB concept has decades of NASA work and is now enabled by advances in aerodynamics, flight controls, and composite structures.
  • Jet Zero leverages existing aerospace supply chains and partnerships (e.g., RTX, 3M, Northrop Grumman).

B. Integration into Existing Aviation and Passenger Experience

• Airport Compatibility:

  • The plane’s geometry (shorter and wider) fits existing airports/gates, solving issues that plagued giants like the A380.
  • Fast boarding: “Six aisles... you board from the middle... we anticipate the full boarding time for this plane is going to be something more on the order of 10 to 15 minutes, as opposed to 30 to even 45 minutes. And that's just a whole revelation.”
    — Tom (33:58)

• Luggage and Premium Experience:

  • Each passenger gets dedicated carry-on space—“luggage anxiety diminishes.”
  • Focus on increased premium seating options as airlines trend toward more premium experiences.

C. Design Process & Execution

• Rapid Prototyping:

  • “Pathfinder” scale models—4%, 6%, 12% sizes—are iteratively tested in the real world (“truck stick” testing), in addition to digital twin and CFD simulations.
  • “There's nothing that gets the team more excited when... the scale model team is out on the runway and everyone runs to the window and sees the thing.” (39:39)

• Technical Progress:

  • The demonstrator (full-scale prototype) is scheduled to fly in late 2027; project is on time and under budget.
  • Major stakeholders: Air Force, NASA, and industry partners are directly involved in vetting.

D. Market Fit and Economic Impact

• Fuel and Cost Savings:

  • Potential reduction in fuel burn per passenger mile by up to 50% compared to aging 767s; at least 30% aerodynamic efficiency improvement over tube-and-wing designs.
  • For military, efficiency translates to more payload/range per tanker—key for global logistics.

• Market Entry and TAM:

  • Jet Zero’s Z4 targets the 200–250 seat “middle market” currently underserved by existing models.
  • The product is positioned as an undeniable buy for airlines due to unique size and efficiency—“How could there be a better product market fit?” (46:33)

E. The Startup vs. Incumbents Paradigm

• Why Not Boeing or Airbus?
  • Incumbent resistance is due to risk aversion and organizational inertia—classic “Innovator’s Dilemma,” not lack of capability.
  • “Sometimes when a change is needed... it's not the incumbent who can do that. The risks are too high, they're not set up for it.”
    — Tom (49:16)

F. Capital & Venture Landscape

• Funding:
  • Raised from dual-use (defense/commercial) investors like the Air Force, United, B Capital, and RXT Ventures.
  • “Growth capital” round is in process; macro shifts favoring hardware and dual-use startups due to AI-related volatility.
  • “Hardware, hardware, hardware. This is a solid place for capital right now.”
    — Tom (54:03)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You can't kick ass without the gas.” — Air Mobility Command tanker motto (45:17)
• “I've never seen anything like it. There's literally no product in the middle of a very mature market. And the TAM is trillions.” — Tom (46:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• What is Blended Wing Body: (28:16–29:18)
• Boarding/Efficiency: (33:38–35:12)
• Prototyping in Practice: (36:47–39:39)
• Market Fit and TAM: (46:33–48:59)
• Venture Funding Observations: (54:03–55:17)

3. Nutrisense: Data-Driven Personal Wellness (56:13 – 73:44)

Main Theme:

Interview with Dan Zavoroni, co-founder and CEO of Nutrisense, on democratizing access to metabolic health data through continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), actionable software, and human + AI-powered coaching.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

A. What Is Nutrisense?

• First-Mover in Non-Diabetic CGMs:

  • Pioneered taking hospital-grade CGMs and bundling them with user-friendly software and professional coaching for non-diabetic populations (pre-diabetes, weight loss, longevity, etc.).

• Product Stack:

  • Hardware: 14-day subdermal sensor transmits glucose data to your phone.
  • Software: Tracks macros, integrates with wearables, visualizes data.
  • Coaching: Registered dietitians interpret data and offer personalized advice.

B. Why Glucose Matters & User Experience

• Glucose as a Core Health Metric:

  • Dietary carbohydrates raise blood glucose; spikes managed by insulin.
  • High-carb diets and sedentary living lead to prediabetes and related diseases.

• Personalized Optimization:

  • “Some people respond very well [to] potatoes. But you give them rice and they're spiking their glucose in diabetic range for two, three hours.”
    — Dan (61:43)
  • Identifying and correcting food-specific spikes can definitively prevent chronic conditions.

C. Human-in-the-Loop vs. Pure AI

• Role of Dietitians:

  • Human context is crucial: emotional state, stress, social factors.
  • AI automates “memory” and report generation, making each coaching session deeper and more individualized.
    “Now they press two buttons, we create a report, they review the report, and now they talk to you about what you did three weeks ago. And they remember it. So it feels more personalized.”
    — Dan (62:42)

• AI Features:

  • “Nora,” an AI agent, synthesizes user data (diet, exercise, conversations) for recommendations (e.g., “What should I eat for breakfast?”).
  • Voice input and photo-based logging reduce friction and guilt from manual data entry.

D. Market, Traction, and Business Model

• Massive Traction:

  • 120,000+ users; founders are particularly drawn to the data-centric approach.
  • Subscriptions are about $100/month, but insurance increasingly covers the service for select populations.

• AI Wellness Market and the Rise of Distribution:

  • Surge in adjacent wellness startups is seen as market validation.
  • Nutrisense is approaching profitability: “We don't need the money to grow because of the technology and the place [we're] right now.”
    — Dan (72:43)

• Product Development and Hiring:

  • Product managers are still welcome; growth is less about headcount and more about distribution partnerships.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Login is annoying. Login’s very, very annoying.”
  — Dan (65:29)

• “If I did, you'll give you a little, little light tap on your shoulder. You won't feel any pain, pain. But I think if you lights up on your shoulder 30,000 times, sooner or later you're a bruise. And it's exactly what's happening in glucose and diabetes.”
  — Dan (61:52)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• How the CGM Works and Demo: (59:34–60:43)
• Human + AI Synergy in Healthtech: (62:42–63:50)
• AI-Driven Food Recommendations: (66:08–66:35)
• Pricing & Insurance Details: (68:35–69:27)
• Profitability & Shifts in Startup Growth: (72:16–73:16)

Final Thoughts

All three interviews emphasize the maturing of deep tech hardware in health, mobility, and wellness—fields often overshadowed by software and AI. Important recurring themes:

• The synergy of AI and rich sensor data (in brain, air, and glucose) transforms what is actionable and possible.
• Early use-cases often focus on unmet medical needs, generating data and lowering risk before expansion to general consumers.
• Human expertise remains essential for context and guidance, even as AI boosts efficiency and accessibility.
• Startups are tackling spaces where incumbents can’t or won’t move fast enough due to risk or organizational inertia.
• Distribution and real-world deployment—especially reimbursement and regulatory buy-in—are the key levers for impact.

For technologists and founders, this episode offers a roadmap for building defensible, impactful companies at the intersection of atoms and bits.

Listen to This Episode If You’re Curious About:

• The mechanics and promise of modern brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)
• Aerospace innovation outside major incumbents—how new shapes can cut emissions, costs, and boarding times
• How continuous health tracking and human-AI collaboration is changing wellness products and businesses

Quick Reference

Paradromics — High-density, implantable BCIs for restoring speech and movement, with a path to cognitive and emotional monitoring.
Jet Zero — Commercializing the blended wing body for unprecedented aircraft efficiency.
Nutrisense — Personalized metabolic health through glucose data, software, and curated dietitian advice.

If you want to learn more:

• Paradromics.com — For trial enrollment, especially in Ann Arbor, MI
• Jetzero.com — To follow the next-gen demonstrator launch
• Nutrisense.io — For details on consumer or insurance-based access to health monitoring

Summary by: [Podcast Summarizer AI, 2026]