Elon Musk’s Neuralink announces first wireless brain-chip implant

Neuralink, the brain-chip startup by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has successful implanted a wireless brain chip in a human.

Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, stated Neuralink, his brain-chip startup has successfully implanted a wireless brain chip in a human for the first time. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), the social media platform Musk owns, he stated the initial results showed promising neuron spike detection. He also added that the patient is recovering well.

The brain-chip company aims to connect the human brain to computers and tackle a vast array of neurological conditions like schizophrenia, depression, autism, and obesity. The company had received Food and Drug Administration (FDA), approvals in May last year.

Musk further posted, the first Neuralink product would be named Telepathy. He explained it would enable control of your phone or computer and through the almost any device, just by thinking. He stated initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.

Citing the example of late iconic British physicist Stephen Hawking, who had suffered from motor neurone disease, Musk posted – “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”

Neuralink uses a robotic system to surgically implant a brain-computer interface (BCI) device into the region of the brain responsible for controlling voluntary movements. However, experts state Neuralink currently has several rivals, including the Utah-based company Blackrock Neurotech, which in fact had implanted many of its first brain interfaces, two decades ago in 2004.

In recent scientific studies conducted in the US, implants were used to monitor the brain activity of a person who is trying to speak. This could later be decoded to help understand communication better.