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Neuralink: What Does the Company That Promises to Change the Future and Your Brain Do?


Neuralink is a neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk in 2016. Its main mission is to develop brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that allow a direct connection between the human brain and electronic devices.


The idea is to create a technology that helps in the treatment of neurological diseases, such as paralysis, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's, and in the future to enable interaction between humans and machines in a more direct way.


However, supposedly, the beginning and history of the company are not exactly like that. It all started with Dr. Pedram Mohseni, a professor at Case Western Reserve University, and his scientific partner, Dr. Randolph Nudo, from Kansas University Medical Center, who owned the trademark "NeuraLink" since 2015, after creating their own startup.



Starting in 2011, Mohseni, a bioengineer, and Nudo, a brain specialist, began exploring an idea for an electronic brain chip to treat traumatic brain injuries.


Their idea: to restore damaged connections by recording neurons in one part of the brain and then transmitting the conversation to another. In 2013, they even demonstrated that their prototype could help rats with brain injuries.


That’s when the pair formed NeuraLink (which they spelled with a capital “L”). But raising money proved difficult. Any device that ends up in the human brain needs to be as reliable as a Swiss watch and could easily cost $200 million to develop and test.


The pair of longtime neurotechnology researchers had developed a device that could help people with brain injuries. But their initial outreach to investors didn’t go far when a stranger approached them offering tens of thousands of dollars for their company’s name.


They accepted. No one mentioned that Musk, whose net worth at the time was $14.7 billion according to Forbes, was behind it.


“They approached us, we negotiated, and now Elon Musk will be the rightful owner of Neuralink,” Mohseni says.


Rather than resentment, Mohseni says he’s excited. “Finally, tech titans are putting money behind some wild ideas that a small number of neuroscientists have long championed and doggedly sought to promote,” he says.



Musk’s company Neuralink (now spelled with an ‘l’) was founded in San Francisco, California, and initially involved engineers and scientists from a variety of fields, including neuroscience, bioengineering, robotics, and software.


In addition to Elon Musk, the founders include Ben Rapoport, a neuroscience doctor and surgeon, Max Hodak, a bioengineering specialist, and other experts in the field. Before Neuralink, many of the early members came from laboratories and startups focused on neuroscience and biotechnology.


Neuralink’s initial goal is to improve the quality of life of people with neurological disorders by developing an implantable device in the brain that can monitor and stimulate neurons. The company’s best-known project is the “Link,” a chip implanted in the skull that can record and influence brain activity.


In the long term, Elon Musk has talked about more ambitious goals, such as the possibility of “combining” the human mind with artificial intelligence (AI), creating a symbiosis between humans and machines. Musk sees this integration as a way to ensure that humans can keep up with the advancement of AI, preventing them from becoming "obsolete" in the face of the development of superintelligent systems.


Neuralink's experiments are still in the early stages and have been conducted primarily on animals, such as monkeys and pigs. In 2020, the company demonstrated a pig with an implanted Neuralink chip, which transmitted data about the animal's neural activity.


In 2021, they released a video of a monkey playing a video game using only its mind, controlling the game through neural signals transmitted to a computer, and in the same year they announced an investment of over 200 million dollars.



In December 2022, enrollment will open for volunteer spinal cord injury patients. In late 2023, after a record FDA approval, they will begin the first human implants.


For the study, eligibility criteria include individuals who:


  • Have tetraplegia (limited function in all 4 limbs) due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and are at least 1 year post-injury (without improvement)


  • Are at least 22 years old


  • Have a consistent and reliable caregiver


The study will take approximately 6 years to complete. During the study, patients will have regular follow-ups with the specialist team to monitor their progress and ensure that the Neuralink BCI continues to function as expected.


Patients will be invited to participate in BCI research sessions during the Primary Study, with a minimum commitment of 2 sessions per week, for 1 hour per session for the first 18 months. Long-term follow-up begins immediately after the completion of the Primary Study and will occur over 5 years, with a total of 20 visits.


Neuralink implants are performed by a surgical robot, developed by the company itself, which is capable of inserting extremely thin wires into the brain with precision. Each wire contains electrodes capable of detecting brain activity with high resolution.


During the study, the R1 robot is used to surgically place the N1 implant in a region of the brain that controls movement intention. Participants will be asked to use the N1 implant and the N1 user app to control a computer and provide feedback to the system.


R1 Robot that performs the implantation of the N1 devices


Once surgically placed, the N1 implant (Link) is cosmetically invisible. It records and transmits brain activity with the aim of allowing you to control a computer.


The N1 implant records neural activity through 1024 electrodes distributed over 64 wires, each thinner than a human hair.



The N1 app decodes movement intention from brain signals recorded by the N1 implant, allowing you to control a computer with your thoughts.


Neuralink N1 App


The last update for this project was in August 2024. Alex, the second participant in the study, received his Neuralink implant (Link). The surgery, performed at the Barrow Neurological Institute, went well, Alex was discharged the following day, and his recovery has been uneventful.


With the Link, he has improved his ability to play video games and has begun to learn how to use computer-aided design (CAD) software to design 3D objects.


This marks another significant step towards providing a high-performance interface that will improve control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia to help restore their autonomy.


From the first moment Alex connected his Link to his computer, it took less than 5 minutes for him to start controlling a cursor with his mind. Within a few hours, he was able to surpass the maximum speed and accuracy he had achieved with any other assistive technology in the Webgrid task. A type of game in which the player must place a circle inside a cube that moves in various directions.


Similar to Noland, the first participant, Alex broke the previous world record for brain-computer interface (BCI) cursor control with a non-Neuralink device on the first day of using the Link.


After the first research session was completed, Alex continued to test the Link’s capabilities independently, using it to play the first-person shooter Counter-Strike. Alex enjoys building things. Before his spinal cord injury, he worked as an automotive technician, repairing and tinkering with various types of vehicles and large machines.


Ever since, he wanted to learn how to design 3D objects using computer-aided design (CAD) software so that he could work on projects without having to rely too heavily on his assistive system. However, the level of control afforded by his assistive technologies made this challenging.


On the second day of using the Link, Alex used Fusion 360 CAD software for the first time and was able to design a custom mount for his Neuralink charger, which was then 3D printed and integrated into his setup.



In November 2024, the company announced the start of expanded testing, with Health Canada approval to launch the CAN-PRIME Study, the first international trial.


Similar to the PRIME Study, the CAN-PRIME Study aims to evaluate the safety of the surgical robot implant and assess the initial functionality of the BCI to enable people with quadriplegia to control external devices with their thoughts.


The trial is currently open to Canadian residents with limited or no ability to use both hands due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or cervical spinal cord injury.


In January 2025, Elon Musk announced the third person to receive an implant from his company, one of many groups working to connect the nervous system to machines.


“We have … three humans with Neuralinks and they’re all working well,” he said during a wide-ranging interview at an event in Las Vegas that was streamed on his X social media platform.


Since the first brain implant about a year ago, Musk said the company has upgraded the devices with more electrodes, higher bandwidth and longer battery life. Musk also said Neuralink hopes to implant the experimental devices in 20 to 30 more people this year, in 2025.


The researchers behind this project hope that over time, the Link will help many people create in their areas of interest and expertise, and we’re excited to work with more people to help them reconnect with their passions.


Neuralink is looking to further its experiments, with the goal of treating a range of neurological conditions in addition to spinal cord injuries.


However, there are technical, ethical and regulatory challenges to bringing this technology to clinical practice. In addition, the idea of ​​a brain-computer interface raises questions about privacy, data security and the limits of bioengineering.


In addition to Neuralink, other companies are also emerging in the area of ​​brain implants. In addition to Musk, online payments entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is investing $100 million in a company called Kernel, which is also developing brain implants.


Synchron Founders: Thomas Oxley and Nicholas Opie; Year Founded: 2012; Total Funding: $134M


In 2012, Thomas Oxley and Nicholas Opie founded Synchron, a US-based neurotechnology company focused on developing endovascular brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to restore functionality to individuals with severe paralysis.


The company’s flagship device, the Stentrode, is a minimally invasive BCI that is implanted into blood vessels near the surface of the motor cortex. Using this innovative technology, Synchron enables patients to control digital devices hands-free by capturing and wirelessly transmitting motor intentions directly from the brain.


Cognixion Founders: Andreas Forsland; Year Founded: 2014; Total Funding: $17.3M


Founded with support from Amazon in 2014, Cognixion is dedicated to developing innovative solutions that combine augmented reality (AR) and brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. Headquartered in California, the company has been widely recognized for its pioneering contributions, receiving renowned awards such as Red Dot Best of the Best and Edison Award Gold.


Inbrain Founders: Carolina Aguilar and José Garrido; Year Founded: 2020; Total Funding: $75M


A standout in Barcelona’s vibrant biomedical ecosystem, Inbrain Neuroelectronics was founded in 2020, emerging from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) and ICREA. The company uses advanced graphene technology to develop next-generation neural interfaces focused on treating neurological disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease. Its potential impact has already been recognized by the FDA, which granted Inbrain Breakthrough Device designation, highlighting the promise of its innovations in treating neurological conditions.


Precision Neuroscience Founders: Benjamin Rapoport and Michael Mager; Year Founded: 2021; Total Funding: $147M


Founded in 2021 by neurosurgeon Benjamin Rapoport (Harvard Medical School) and engineer Michael Mager (University of Cambridge), Precision Neuroscience is developing a next-generation, minimally invasive brain-computer interface (BCI). Its flagship product, the Layer 7 Cortical Interface, uses a thin-film microelectrode array that conforms to the surface of the brain, enabling highly accurate neural data capture without the tissue damage often associated with traditional penetrating electrodes.


Only a few types of electronic brain implants have reached the market. The most widely used and sold by medical device giant Medtronic is a “deep brain stimulator” that can stop tremors in people with Parkinson’s disease. More than 140,000 patients have received versions of Medtronic’s stimulator, and the company’s brain modulation division has about $500 million in annual sales.


More recently, a company called NeuroPace began selling the first “closed-loop” brain implant for epilepsy patients. This is a leap forward because the device can detect an incoming seizure and then shock the brain to stop it, creating an automatic control circuit. It’s a neuralink, if you will.


But other ventures haven’t fared so well. The list of failed brain interface companies includes BrainGate and Northstar, a company that went bankrupt in 2009 after spending $132 million on an attempt to help stroke patients recover with a brain implant.



READ MORE:


  1. Neuralink : https://neuralink.com


  2. MIT Technology Review. Meet the Guys Who Sold “Neuralink” to Elon Musk without Even Realizing It What’s in a name? Neuralink is a lot sweeter now that a billionaire is behind it. By Antonio Regaladoarchive. https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/04/04/152788/meet-the-guys-who-sold-neuralink-to-elon-musk-without-even-realizing-it/


  3. https://techfundingnews.com/elon-musks-neuralink-vs-the-rivals-is-the-future-of-ai-enhanced-human-brains-here/

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