Neuralink

Founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and a team of neuroscientists and engineers. Pursues a high-channel-count, fully implanted, wireless BCI installed by a custom surgical robot.

Over $700M raised; 2023 round at ~$5B valuation.

• N1 implant

  1,024-electrode wireless cortical implant.

• R1 surgical robot

  Automated thread-insertion robot.

• Link / Telepathy

  First-generation product for cursor control in paralysed users.

• PRIME study (motor cortex BCI for paralysis)
• Blindsight (visual cortex stimulation)

• FDA Investigational Device Exemption (2023)
• Independent IRB oversight for human trials

• An integrated brain-machine interface platform with thousands of channels

  J. Med. Internet Res. · 2019

• First human implant 2024

  Noland Arbaugh used Telepathy to control a cursor and play chess via thought alone.

• Barrow Neurological Institute
• Various clinical trial sites

1. 2016

   Founded.

2. 2019

   First public technology presentation.

3. 2023

   FDA approval for human trials.

4. 2024

   First human patient receives implant.

Competes with Synchron (less invasive Stentrode), Blackrock Neurotech (long clinical track record), and Precision Neuroscience on the high-bandwidth implanted BCI frontier.