Elon Musk is, once again, pushing the boundaries of modern technology. The South African billionaire has officially launched his startup, Neuralink. The first product from the brain-science startup will be called Telepathy. The product will allow people to control their phones by simply just thinking.
“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs,” Musk posted on X. “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
Here’s a visual example of how it would look.
Here's what the Neuralink implant is designed to enable: pic.twitter.com/ImrSkxT0h7
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) January 29, 2024
The first patient has already received an implant, Musk also posted.
“The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well,” Musk posted. “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”
NBC News highlighted that scientists worked on similar ideas for brain-computer interfaces that, if successful, would assist people who are physically disabled, change how people communicate, and more.
One of Neuralink’s competitors, Precision Neuroscience, implanted its device in a human for the first time in 2023. Neuralink announced its first human implant eight months after the Food and Drug Administration approved it to conduct an in-human clinical study. Musk said he would recruit patients for the study this past September.
Robots will eventually do the surgeries.
A closer look at Elon Musk’s #Neuralink surgical robot.
Read more: https://t.co/wELQBwFCEu#ElonMusk #robot #technology
Video Credit: @CNET pic.twitter.com/FqKiskXB80
— Oigetit Tech (@Oigetit_Tech) August 28, 2020
Musk also runs companies like Tesla and X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. TechCrunch reported that Neuralink is backed by more than 30 investors, including PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. In 2022, Musk said he planned on getting a Neuralink implant himself.
