 | This article needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Developments have been made since article was last updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2025) |
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Neurotechnology |
| Founded | June 21, 2016; 9 years ago (2016-06-21) |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Fremont, California, United States[1] |
Key people | Elon Musk (CEO) |
| Products |
|
| Owner | Elon Musk (over 50%) |
Number of employees | c. 300[2] (2022) |
| Website | neuralink |
| ||
|---|---|---|
Personal Companies Politics In the arts and media | ||
Neuralink Corp.[3] is an Americanneurotechnology company that has developed as of 2024implantablebrain–computer interfaces (BCIs). It was founded byElon Musk and a team of eight scientists and engineers.[3][4][5][6] Neuralink was launched in 2016 and first publicly reported in March 2017.[7][8][9][10] The company is based inFremont, California, with plans to build a three-story building with office and manufacturing space inDel Valle, about 10 miles east ofGigafactory Texas,Tesla's headquarters and manufacturing plant.[4]
Since its founding, the company has hired several high-profileneuroscientists from various universities.[11] By 2019, it had received $158 million in funding ($100 million was from Musk) and had 90 employees.[12] At that time, Neuralink announced that it was working on a "sewing machine-like" device capable of implanting very thin (4 to 6μm in width)[13] threads into the brain, and demonstrated a system that reads information from a lab rat via 1,500electrodes. It anticipated starting experiments with humans in 2020,[12] but later moved that to 2023. As of May 2023, it has been approved for human trials in the United States.[5] On January 29, 2024, Musk announced that Neuralink had successfully implanted a Neuralink device in a human and that the patient was recovering.[14] He was later identified asNoland Arbaugh.
The company has faced criticism for the large number of primates that wereeuthanized after medical trials. The monkeys' veterinary records allegedly show complications with surgically implanted electrodes.[15] In September 2024, Neuralink announced that its latest development effort,Blindsight, would enable blind people whosevisual cortex is undamaged to regain some level of vision. The development received "breakthrough" status from the U.S. federal government, which will accelerate development.[16] In August and September 2025, Toronto's University Health Network performed Canada's first Neuralink brain implant surgeries on two patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, marking the first such procedures outside the United States.[17]
_-1.jpg)
Neuralink was founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and a founding team of eight scientists and engineers: Max Hodak, Benjamin Rapoport, Dongjin Seo, Paul Merolla, Philip Sabes, Tim Gardner, Tim Hanson, and Vanessa Tolosa.[3][4][5][8][6][18][19] The initial hires included experts in neuroscience, biochemistry, and robotics.[9] In January 2017, Musk proxies approached Pedram Mohseni andRandolph Nudo, who owned the rights to the name "NeuraLink" and the prototype on which Musk's company based its work.[20]
In April 2017, Neuralink announced that it was aiming in the short term to make devices to treat seriousbrain diseases, with the eventual goal ofhuman enhancement, sometimes calledtranshumanism.[21][9][22] Musk said his interest in the idea partly stemmed from the concept of "neural lace" in thefictional universe inThe Culture, a series of 10 novels byIain M. Banks.[22][23]
Musk defined the neural lace as a "digital layer above the cortex" that would not necessarily require extensivesurgical insertion but could be implanted through a vein or artery.[24] He said the long-term goal is to achieve "symbiosis with artificial intelligence",[25] which he perceives as anexistential threat to humanity if unchecked.[25][26] He believes the device will be "something analogous to a video game, like a saved game situation, where you are able to resume and upload your last state" and "address brain injuries or spinal injuries and make up for whatever lost capacity somebody has with a chip."[27]
Jared Birchall, the head of Musk'sfamily office, was listed as Neuralink's CEO, CFO, and president in 2018.[28][29] As of September 2018[update], Musk was its majority owner but did not hold an executive position.[30] Co-founder Benjamin Rapoport cited safety concerns as a major influence on his decision to leave Neuralink in 2018.[31] Rapoport subsequently foundedPrecision Neuroscience, emphasizing the use of surface electrodes as opposed to the penetrating electrodes of Neuralink, in order to address brain damage and other safety concerns caused by Neuralink's devices.[32]
By August 2020, only three of the eight founding scientists remained at the company, according to an article byStat News. It reported that Neuralink had seen "years of internal conflict in which rushed timelines have clashed with the slow and incremental pace of science".[33] As of 2020[update], Neuralink was headquartered inSan Francisco's Mission District, sharing thePioneer building withOpenAI, another company Musk co-founded.[29][34] As of 2022[update], Neuralink's headquarters were inFremont, California.[1]
In April 2021, Neuralink demonstrated a monkey playing the game "Pong" using a Neuralink implant.[35] Similar technology had existed since 2002, when a research group demonstrated a monkey moving a computer cursor with neural signals, but scientists acknowledged that making the implant wireless and increasing the number of implanted electrodes represented engineering progress.[36][37][38]
In May 2021, co-founder and president Max Hodak announced that he no longer worked with the company.[6] Only two of the eight co-founders remained at the company as of January 2022.[39] On February 8, 2024, Musk changed the location of Neuralink's business incorporation from Delaware to Nevada[40] after Delaware Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick voided Musk's $55 billion pay package at Tesla.[41] In April 2025, Neuralink falsely called itself a "small disadvantaged business" in a federal filing with the U.S. Small Business Administration.[42]
In 2018,Gizmodo reported that Neuralink "remained highly secretive about its work". Public records showed that it had sought to open ananimal testing facility in San Francisco, but it subsequently began doing research at theUniversity of California, Davis.[29] In 2019, during a live presentation at theCalifornia Academy of Sciences, the Neuralink team revealed the technology of the first prototype it had been working on. It is a system that involves ultra-thin probes inserted into the brain, a neurosurgical robot to perform the operations, and a high-density electronic system capable of processing information from neurons. It is based on technology developed at theUniversity of California, San Francisco and theUniversity of California, Berkeley.[43]
The probes, made mostly ofpolyimide, abiocompatible material, with a thin gold or platinum conductor, are inserted into the brain through an automated process performed by a surgical robot. Each probe consists of an area of wires that contains electrodes capable of locating electrical signals in the brain and a sensory area where the wire interacts with an electronic system that allows amplification and acquisition of the brain signal. Each probe contains 48 or 96 wires, each of which contains 32 independent electrodes, making a system of up to 3,072 electrodes per formation.[13][44]
Neuralink says it has engineered asurgical robot capable of rapidly inserting many flexible probes into the brain, which may avoid the tissue damage and longevity problems associated with larger, more rigid probes.[45][46][47] This surgical robot has an insertion head with a 25 μm diameter needle made oftungsten-rhenium designed to attach to the insertion loops, inject individual probes, and penetrate themeninges and cerebral tissue; it can insert up to six wires (192 electrodes) per minute.[45] A linear motor powers the needle, enabling fast retraction acceleration and varying insertion speeds. A 50-μm tungsten wire that has been bent at the tip and is driven both axially and rotationally makes up the pincher. An imaging stack is also included in the inserter head for needle guidance, real-time insertion viewing, and verification.[45][48][49]
Neuralink has developed anapplication-specific integrated circuit to create a 1,536-channel recording system. This system consists of 256 amplifiers that can be individually programmed,analog-to-digital converters within the chip, and peripheral circuit control to serialize the digitized information obtained.[45][50] It aims to convert information obtained from neurons into an understandable binary code in order to achieve greater understanding of brain function and the ability to stimulate these neurons back. So far, Neuralink's electrodes are too big to record the firing of individual neurons; they can record only the firing of a group of neurons. Neuralink representatives believe this issue may be mitigated algorithmically, but it is computationally expensive and does not produce exact results.[51] In July 2020, Musk said that Neuralink had obtained aFDA breakthrough device designation, which allows limited human testing under the FDA guidelines for medical devices.[52][53]
On May 29, 2024, Musk issued a request for public input on a challenge facing Neuralink. He suggested that due to the size of the data in need of transmission, a compression rate of more than 200x was needed. The challenge specified that compression needed to be lossless, work under low power, and compress data in real time. Software consultant Roy van Rijn called the prospect of 200x lossless compression "just outlandish."[54][55]
Neuralink tests its devices by surgically implanting them in the brains of live monkeys, pigs, and other animals.[56] This has been criticized by groups such asPETA.[57] In August 2020, Neuralink conducted a live demo in which the brain activity of a pig, Gertrude, was displayed in real time.[58][59] A removable device,[60][61] the size of a coin (23 millimeters),[62][63] was implanted in Gertrude's brain and recorded signals from the neurons connected to her snout as she interacted with her environment, such as when she sniffed or touched things.[64][65] The data showed that the technology could read and interpret brain signals, which is key to developing applications that can treat neurological conditions, enable brain-to-machine communication, or enhance human cognition.[66][67][68][69][70] The demonstration included two other pigs. The Neuralink chip implanted in one of the pigs was removed to demonstrate that it could be done without harming the pig.[71][72] The third pig, which did not have an implanted chip,[73][74] served as a comparison to show the similarity in health and behavior of the implanted and non-implanted pigs.[75][76]
From 2017 to 2020, Neuralink's experiments on monkeys were conducted in partnership withUniversity of California, Davis. At the end of the partnership, UC Davis transferred seven monkeys to Neuralink. In 2022, thePhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), an animal welfare advocacy group, alleged that Neuralink and UC Davis had mistreated several monkeys, subjecting them to psychological distress, extreme suffering, and chronic infections due to surgeries.[77] Experiments conducted by Neuralink and UC Davis have involved at least 23 monkeys, and the PCRM believes that 15 of those died or were euthanized as a result of the experiments. The PCRM also alleged that UC Davis withheld photographic and video evidence of the mistreatment.[78]
In February 2022, Neuralink said thatmacaque monkeys were euthanized after experimentation and denied that any animal abuse had occurred.[79][80] In December 2022, it was reported that Neuralink was under federal investigation by theUnited States Department of Agriculture (USDA) foranimal welfare violations. Additionally, aReuters report cited claims by several Neuralink employees that testing was rushed due to Musk's demands for fast results and that was causing needless animal suffering and deaths.[80][81] A September 2023 exposé byWired provided details on the primate deaths based on public records and confidential interviews with a former Neuralink employee and a researcher at theCalifornia National Primate Research Center.[15][82] Those records showed complications with the installation of electrodes, including partialparalysis, bloody diarrhea, andbrain swelling.[15]
In 2022,[further explanation needed] after being rejected for human clinical trials by the FDA, Neuralink performed more tests on pigs to address safety concerns. Some of these pigs were observed to have developedgranulomas (inflammatory tissues) in their brains. Neuralink could not determine the cause of the granulomas, but claimed that the implant and its associated threads were not the cause.[83] In July 2023, a United States Department of Agriculture investigation found no evidence of animal welfare breaches in the trials other than a self-reported incident in 2019.[84] The PCRM disputed the investigation's result.[85] In October 2023,Wired reported that Neuralink worked to keep details of animal suffering and death hidden from the public.[86] In November 2023, U.S. lawmakers asked theSecurities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Neuralink deceived investors by omitting details about possible animal deaths.[87][88]
On March 21, 2024, Musk said that Neuralink's second product,Blindsight, was working in trials with monkeys. He said it operated at a low resolution that was expected to improve and that no monkey had died or been seriously injured due to a Neuralink device, contradicting earlier reports.[89]The New York Times reported that the Department of Agriculture was conducting an investigation into the alleged mistreatment of dozens of test monkeys and that in December 2024, Musk had posted a letter on X in which his lawyer informed him that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had reopened a separate investigation related to the alleged abuses. In January 2025, during the first week of his second term in office, PresidentDonald Trump fired 17 inspectors general, including Phyllis Fong, who was responsible for the Agriculture Department's investigation.[90]
Both investigations were instigated by the nonprofit PCRM. In a December 2024 news release, PCRM wrote, "documents from the University of California, Davis, where Neuralink conducted monkey experiments from 2017 to 2020, reveal that implantation of the company's device caused debilitating health effects in monkeys, resulting in euthanasia. Animals experienced chronic infections, paralysis, swelling in the brain, loss of coordination and balance, and depression".[91] With recent changes in the SEC's leadership, the fate of these investigations is not clear. Musk has denied the allegations of abuse.[92]
The FDA rejected Neuralink's 2022 application to pursue human clinical trials, citing "major safety concerns involving the device's lithium battery; the potential for the implant's tiny wires to migrate to other areas of the brain; and questions over whether and how the device can be removed without damaging brain tissue",[93] but then approved it in May 2023.[94] In September 2023, Neuralink began its first human trials under aninvestigational device exemption from the FDA.[95][96] The trials recruited people withquadriplegia due to cervicalspinal cord injury oramyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).[97] The procedure was performed atBarrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona.[98]
On January 29, 2024, Musk said that Neuralink had successfully implanted Telepathy, abrain–computer interface (BCI) device, in a human on the previous day and that the patient was recovering from the surgery.[14] As it was a "first in human" and "early feasibility" trial to develop a concept, the company was not obligated to disclose details about the procedure or to prove safety or efficacy.[99] Neuralink provided a few details in February on the implant in a recruitment brochure for the Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (PRIME) study.[100] On February 20, Musk said that Neuralink's first human trial participant had been able to control a computer mouse by thought.[101][102]
On March 20, 2024, through a livestream on X, Neuralink introduced the person who had received the first Neuralink implant in the clinical trial, 29-year-oldNoland Arbaugh. Arbaugh had become aquadriplegic after a diving accident dislocated hisC4 and C5 spinal vertebrae. Noland demonstrated his ability to move a cursor on a computer screen to allow him to control music and play games such as chess. He expressed support for the implant in improving his quality of life.[103] He acknowledged that the device was not perfect but said he was excited about the future.[104] In a subsequent interview, Arbaugh said that 85% of the device's implant threads had completely detached, as his brain had shifted approximately three times as much as Neuralink had expected.[105]
The Wall Street Journal reported that Neuralink would proceed with a second trial participant.[105] The FDA had signed off on the company's proposed fixes for a problem that occurred with Arbaugh.[106] In August 2024, a chip was reportedly successfully implanted in the second participant, pseudonym "Alex".[107] Alex was reportedly able to create 3D designs by using the CAD software Fusion 360 and a custom mount for his Neuralink charger because of the implant.[108] Additional accounts show that he has been able to play first-person shooter games at a higher level than before.[109] Unlike Arbaugh's implantation procedure, Alex's reduced brain motion and placed the implant closer to the brain's surface in an attempt to mitigate thread retraction. Since the initial operation, Alex has reportedly not experienced any thread retraction.[109] He said, "The Link is a big step on the path of regaining freedom and independence for myself." In November 2024, Neuralink received approval from Health Canada for its first clinical trial in that country.[110] The trial, called CAN-PRIME,[111] was to be led byAndres M. Lozano.[112]
As of September 2025 Elon Musk reported 12 trial participants with over 2,000 cumulative days & 15,000 hours of usage, up from 7 Barrow had mentioned in June.[113]
Scientists have cited technical challenges for Neuralink. In 2017, a journalist at theIEEE Spectrum magazine asked for comments from five researchers who had worked on BCI implants, includingThomas Oxley. Oxley called the Neuralink developments "exciting" but expected no real results in the foreseeable future.[further explanation needed][114] At a live demonstration in August 2020, Musk described the device as "aFitbit in your skull". Several neuroscientists and publications criticized these claims.[115][116][117]MIT Technology Review reported that the demonstration's main objective was to "stir excitement", adding, "Neuralink has provided no evidence that it can (or has even tried to) treat depression, insomnia, or a dozen other diseases that Musk mentioned in a slide".[115] In response to Musk's description of Neuralink's advancements as "profound", Andrew Jackson, a professor of neural interfaces atNewcastle University, said, "I don't think there was anything revolutionary in the presentation."[118]
Thiago Arzua of theMedical College of Wisconsin argued that Neuralink's functions were not novel and that ideas for abrain–machine interface (BMI) were at least 50 years old.[119] He cited thehaptic feedback a man received while controlling a robotic prosthetic arm which he used in 2016 to give President Obama afist bump.[120] Arzua said that the 2020 Neuralink presentation "showed little more than a flashy new design for a BMI with moreelectrodes".[119]Duke University researcherMiguel Nicolelis made similar criticisms, saying that most of what Neuralink claims as "novelty" had already been performed by his lab in the early 2000s; that there are ethical concerns about how the company markets and uses this technology; and that most patients do not want to undergo surgery to recover their movements.[121][122][123][124] Some researchers have questioned Neuralink's transparency in scientific research processes, patient safety considerations, and the potential implications for neurotechnology.[125][126]
The company has hired away several high-profile neuroscientists
.jpg)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
| Technologies |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific phenomena | ||
| Disciplines | ||
| Speculative | ||
| People | ||
| Other | ||
| Main |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies | |||||
| Organizations | |||||
| Politics | |||||
| Depictions |
| ||||
| People |
| ||||
| Related | |||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
