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

Okay, so this whole brain chip thing—yeah, that’s a thing now. Gabe Newell, you know, the guy who started Valve, he’s got this company, Starfish Neuroscience, doing some mad scientist stuff with chips for brains. Like, actual brain chips. It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie, but turns out, it’s real.

So Starfish dropped this blog update saying they’re making this super tiny, super low-power chip with imec (some R&D big dogs). The chip’s for brain implants that don’t need wires or batteries, supposedly—like magic, right? The idea is they zap your brain in multiple spots at once to sort out jumbled neural circuits. Huge if true. Gabe’s mentioned this “read and write” brain magic in a few talks, so I guess it’s not total vaporware.

Oh, there was this pic—Gabe giving one of those “visionary” looks next to Mike Armbinder (serious face, classic). Anyway, Starfish is tackling the whole clunky, energy-hogging mess that current brain gadgets are. They aim to shrink it down real small, to place these mini-chips wherever needed—like brain Ikea or something.

Honestly, when you hear “brain chip by Gabe Newell,” you don’t imagine reading a spec sheet, but here we are. This thing is insanely tiny—imagine 2 × 4mm. It barely sips power, and it records and stimulates brain signals. It’s packed with, like, 32 electrode sites and can juggle multiple signals. Nerdy specs aside, just imagine this little guy making hospital gadgetry look like it’s from the caveman days.

But, they’re not shipping these out just yet. Starfish is scouting for some collabs, especially if you’re into wireless power stuff or have a knack for implantable tech. They’re aiming for late 2025, which sounds like tomorrow in tech years.

And Gabe—being Gabe—dreams bigger than medical uses. Said something way back in 2023 about living in a “Matrix” future. Creepy cool? Creepy cool. His chat with IGN was wild: brains being weird with things like feeling “cold” but being easier with motor stuff. Who’d have thunk it? But shows he’s in this for the long game, not just selling gizmos.

And before Gabe left Valve, Mike, their mental magic guy, was all about gaming with brain-computer interfaces. Imagine how deep games could go when brain waves join the party? At GDC 2019, he was buzzing about tapping into player reactions—like a feedback loop between your neurons and the game.

This shoutout to Brad ‘SadlyItsBradley’ Lynch for picking this up goes here, because why not?