Elon Musk’s biotech startup, Neuralink, has implanted a brain chip into a third human participant as part of its clinical trials. The world’s richest man revealed this during an interview at an event held in Las Vegas, which was broadcast on his social media platform, X.
During the interview, Musk noted that three people are now using Neuralink’s brain implant and that the technology is working well in all three cases. According to the billionaire, Neuralink hopes to implant the experimental devices in another 20 to 30 people this year. Musk did not share additional details about the third patient.
As for the other participants, Neuralink implanted its brain chip into the first patient, 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh, in January 2024. Arbaugh was left paralyzed from the shoulders down after a diving accident. Following the implantation of Neuralink’s brain device, a company-released video showed the paralyzed patient playing an online chess game using only his mind.
The second participant, who also has a spinal cord injury and received the implant last summer, was able to play video games with the help of the device and began learning to use design software to create 3D objects.
For reference, Elon Musk founded Neuralink in July 2016 together with Max Hodak. Since then, the company has been working on developing and refining a microchip that can be implanted in the brain to stimulate neurons. The main purpose of Neuralink’s device is to treat people suffering from paralysis and neurological disorders caused by spinal cord injuries.
