Butterfly Network Announces 5-Year Co-Development Agreement with Forest Neurotech for Next-generation Brain Computer Interfaces Using Ultrasound-on-Chip™ Technology.
- Companies announce collaboration to develop the first implanted, whole-brain neural interface Powered by Butterfly’s Ultrasound-on-Chip technology™.
- Deal includes $20MM in milestones paid to Butterfly with additional revenue anticipated upon commercialization for every unit sold.
- Collaboration highlights one of the many potential applications of Butterfly’s novel Ultrasound-on-Chip™ technology for complementary technology development and device enablement.
BURLINGTON, MA, October 24, 2023 – Butterfly Network, Inc. (“Butterfly”) (NYSE:BFLY), a digital health company transforming care through the power of portable, semiconductor-based ultrasound technology and intuitive software, and Forest Neurotech, a deep tech research company that is building a minimally-invasive device for imaging and stimulating the brain with ultrasound, today announced they have entered into a five-year co-development agreement.
The agreement includes $20MM to be paid to Butterfly for annual licensing, chip purchases, services and milestone payments, of which $3.5MM was received on signing. Additional revenue is anticipated for every unit sold upon commercialization. Forest Neurotech is the latest Focused Research Organization to be created as part of Convergent Research, an incubator for ambitious scientific non-profits and member of the Schmidt Futures Network. Convergent Research recently announced $50M in new philanthropic support.
Joseph DeVivo, Butterfly Network’s President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman commented, “Forest Neurotech is an exemplary partner that validates the vision behind Butterfly Garden. We opened our imaging platform for co-development to encourage and expedite innovation that captures the full potential of Butterfly’s disruptive chip technology through new applications and in adjacent markets. By bringing our chip into the neurotech implantables space, this partnership does exactly that.”
“We are thrilled to embark on this journey with Butterfly Network, whose unique Ultrasound-on-Chip™ technology is key to enabling our novel approach to minimally invasive brain imaging and stimulation.” said Will Biederman, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Forest Neurotech. “Our shared passion for innovation and semiconductor-enabled healthcare technologies makes Butterfly the perfect match to enable our vision of developing the world’s first implanted, whole-brain neural interface.”
The news follows Butterfly’s announcement in August 2023, launching Butterfly Garden to facilitate partnerships with medical device companies, AI companies, or software developers seeking to build new applications with its industry leading imaging platform. Butterfly’s Ultrasound-on-Chip™ technology can operate at a wide range of frequencies, has enormous programming flexibility, and is compact in size, making it highly suitable for a variety of ultrasonic sensing use cases, including potential implantables.
Since launching Butterfly Garden, Butterfly has seen a strong response to the program and the company expects additional collaboration announcements to follow.
Butterfly continues to accept applications for third-party development on a rolling basis. To learn more or apply, visit https://www.butterflynetwork.com/butterfly-garden.
About Butterfly Network
Founded by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg in 2011 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange through a business combination with Longview Acquisition Corp., Butterfly created the world's first handheld, single probe whole-body ultrasound system using semiconductor technology, the Butterfly iQ+. Butterfly's mission is to democratize medical imaging and contribute to the aspiration of global health equity, making high-quality ultrasound affordable, easy-to-use, globally accessible, and intelligently connected, including for the 4.7 billion people around the world lacking access to ultrasound. Through its proprietary Ultrasound-on-Chip™ technology, Butterfly is paving the way for earlier detection and remote management of health conditions around the world. The Butterfly iQ+ can be purchased today by trained healthcare practitioners in areas including, but not limited to, parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America and South America; to learn more about available countries, visit: www.butterflynetwork.com/choose-your-country.
About Forest Neurotech
Forest Neurotech is a Focused Research Organization (FRO) developing an ultrasound based BCI and software platform with the aim of catalyzing breakthroughs in both the understanding and personalized treatment of the human brain. Ultrasound is capable of measuring and stimulating brain-wide activity in a minimally invasive manner. This opens new avenues for research into personalized therapies across a range of psychiatric and cognitive disorders. As a FRO, Forest Neurotech has the freedom to focus solely on advancing science and engineering for the public good. Pioneered by Convergent Research, a member of the Schmidt Futures Network, FROs are designed to overcome key technological bottlenecks for the advancement of science and medicine. Forest Neurotech is based in California, co-founded by former Caltech scientists and a former Google executive. For more information, visit www.forestneurotech.org.
Contacts
Business & Technology Inquiries:
Darius Shahida, Chief Business Development Officer
dshahida@butterflynetinc.com
Media:
Liz Learned, Head of Corporate Communications
media@butterflynetwork.com
Investors:
Heather Getz, Chief Financial and Operations Officers
investors@butterflynetwork.com
Forest Neurotech
Will Biederman, Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer
will@forestneurotech.org