On Tuesday, Elon Musk announced that his startup, Neuralink, had implanted a brain implant in its first human patient, showing “promising” preliminary outcomes.
Musk co-founded a neurotechnology company in 2016 with the goal of creating direct neural-computer communication.

The goal is to enhance human potential, cure neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s or ALS, and perhaps eventually establish a mutually beneficial partnership between humans and artificial intelligence.

“The first human received an implant from Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well,” Musk said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,” he added.

US regulators had given the go-ahead last year for it to test its brain implants on humans.

Neuralink’s technology will primarily function via an implant known as the “Link”—a device resembling five stacked coins that is surgically inserted into the human brain.

Last year, California-based Neuralink employed over 400 people and raised at least $363 million, according to data company Pitchbook.

Officially known as brain-machine or brain-computer interface research, Musk is not alone in trying to make strides in the field. In July 2022, a US patient received the first device implanted by an Australian company Synchron which manufactures implants.

Affected by delays, the billionaire had apparently inquired about a possible partnership with Synchron. Its implant version does not require a skull cut to be installed, in contrast to Neuralink’s Link.