Paul Le Floch: Pioneering Neural Implant Materials with Axoft

 "Welcome to today's episode! Our guest, Paul Le Floch, co-founder and CEO of Axoft, brings innovation to neural implants. With roots in France and a Harvard PhD, he's leading groundbreaking work. Welcome, Paul!"

 Top 3 Takeaways:

• "It's a good time to ask the question: What if we could develop solutions tailored for this problem instead of borrowing from the semiconductor industry? That's what Axsoft is about. We emphasize developing soft materials that offer better long-term biocompatibility. Additionally, these materials are suitable for micro and nano fabrication and remain stable inside the brain."
• "The advantage is that when we identify something that doesn't work well, we can modify it because we designed the materials. The key is that we've developed an innovation that functions effectively, but we also acknowledge that it's not the final version of the system. The difference is that we can revisit it at the polymer chemistry level and alter the material's composition, structure, or introduce additives to enhance stability or mechanical properties."
• "At early stage, there is iteration. There is improvement over time. And at some point you need to take this leap of faith that your technology actually has a good edge, that you have enough, you will have enough resources to make it competitive. And I think we were confident enough about that and about our approach."

 

0:30 Can you introduce yourself better than I just did?

1:00 Is Axoft a spinoff?

5:00 How do you know your material is better?

9:00 Why did you go the startup route vs the academia route with this technology?

12:30 How do you let investors know that this is a long term startup?

14:00 Why did you choose the dilutive vs nondilutive route?

15:30 What indication is the material best for?

17:00 Where are you guys in terms of the lifecycle?

19:45 How big is the team and what are current challenges?

22:30 Where do you see neurotech in 10 years?

23:45 Anything that we didn’t talk about that you wanted to mention?