(Yicai) Sept. 3 -- Dowstone Technology's shares soared after the Chinese non-metallic materials producer said it has invested USD30 million in a domestic brain-computer interface startup to promote the use of its carbon materials in emerging industries.

Dowstone [SHE: 300409] surged 11.6 percent to CNY23.62 (USD3.31) a share as of 1.55 p.m. in Shenzhen, after earlier jumping by as much as 15 percent.

Dowstone took part in the Pre-B financing round of Brain Family, the Foshan-based company announced late yesterday. The target firm mainly focuses on researching and developing non-invasive BCI tech, with its main products including smart bionic hands, bionic legs, and dexterous hands for industrial use, it added.

The investment will help advance the application of Dowstone's carbon materials in the production of key components in the brain-computer interface market, such as electronic skin, according to the company.

Dowstone obtained preferred stock in Brain Family after the latest fundraiser, giving it priority rights over ordinary shareholders in liquidation, voting, repurchase, and other matters, it said, without disclosing the size of its stake or the names of other participants in the financing round.

Established in 2007, Dowstone focuses on carbon, lithium battery, and ceramic materials. It owns cathode copper and cobalt compounds factories in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the latter of which is a key raw material for lithium-ion batteries.

Editor: Martin Kadiev