Musk's Neuralink cleared for human test of brain implants
United States regulators have given approval for Elon Musk’s start-up to test its brain implants on people. It received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first human clinical study of implants, which are intended to let the brain interface directly with computers.
As the start-up demonstrated, Neuralink prototypes, which are the size of a coin, have so far been implanted in the skulls of monkeys.
As an early demonstration showed, a piece of the skull is replaced with a Neuralink disk, and its wispy wires are strategically inserted into the brain with the help of a surgical robot.
For more coverage about Neuralink, subscribe to our club letter
The disk registers nerve activity, relaying the information via a common Bluetooth wireless signal to a device such as a smartphone, according to Musk.
At a previous presentation, Neuralink showed several monkeys “playing” basic video games or moving a cursor on a screen through their Neuralink implant.
The technology has also been tested on pigs.
Recruitment for a clinical trial with humans is not yet open, according to Neuralink.
Musk, who recently established a business devoted to developing sophisticated artificial intelligence, has contended that synching minds with machines is vital if people are going to avoid being outpaced by AI.
human-brain-machine
Members of the Neuralink team have shared a “wish list” that ranges from technology returning mobility to the paralyzed and sight to the blind to enabling telepathy and the uploading of memories for later reference or perhaps to be downloaded into replacement bodies. This means that the addressable market of this technology is huge.
As with other private companies founded by Elon Musk, it is hard to get shares. Neuralink, above all, has a small number of shareholders who have selling restrictions.
While other companies working on similar systems include Synchron, which announced in July that it had implanted the first human-brain-machine interface in the United States, we believe Elon Musk’s execution skills, team, and ability to raise funds put Neuralink well ahead in the race for market dominance.
Neuralink stock
Neuralink is a privately held company and does not have publicly traded stock. It is not listed on any stock exchanges, so shares are unavailable for public investment. IPO CLUB invested in the company in a private transaction. Founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and a team of experts, it is a neurotechnology company focused on developing brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Headquartered in San Francisco, Neuralink aims to enhance human cognition by enabling direct communication between the brain and computers. The company is dedicated to advancing medical science, particularly in treating neurological disorders, through innovative research and development in neuroscience and engineering.
What is IPO CLUB
We are a club of Investors with a barbell strategy: very early and late-stage investments. We leverage our experience to select investments in the world’s most promising companies.
