Elon Musk Says First Neuralink Human Patient Received Brain Implant, Wants Stephen Hawking-Alike to 'Communicate Faster Than an Auctioneer'

By Jace Dela Cruz

Jan 30 2024, 01:24 AM EST

Elon Musk has revealed that his brain implant startup Neuralink has successfully carried out its first brain implant in a human patient.

According to Bloomberg, this puts Neuralink on track to develop a technology that allows individuals to control computers using their minds.

Elon Musk Says First Neuralink Human Patient Received Brain Implant, Wants Stephen Hawking-Alike to 'Communicate Faster Than an Auctioneer' — Elon Musk has revealed that his startup Neuralink has successfully carried out its first brain implant in a human patient. Kirsty Wigglesworth - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Elon Musk Says First Human Patient Receives Brain Implant From Neuralink

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Elon Musk announced that the patient was recovering well and that the initial results of the procedure were promising.

This is a significant milestone for the startup, valued at up to $5 billion based on private stock trades. Neuralink aims to create a device that could be implanted in humans to monitor brain activity.

This microchip would be inserted into a patient's skull and placed into the brain. The trial aims to assess the safety of Neuralink's implant to enable individuals with paralysis to control and operate external devices such as computers using their minds.

The company received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance in May for its first human trial. Neuralink recruited patients with quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) late last year for the trial.

Elon Musk Hopes Users With Disabilities Like Stephen Hawking Could Communicate Faster With Neuralink's Brain Implant

Elon Musk also wrote on X Monday night that Neuralink's first product would be called "Telepathy." He said this technology will allow "control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking."

The tech billionaire added: "Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal."

Musk said Neuralink had good results for neuron spike detection, which means the company is getting recordings from the patient's brain, according to Kip Ludwig, co-director of the Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering at the University of Wisconsin.

Ludwig told Bloomberg that Neuralink now needs to show it can do better than other leading firms in the area, such as Synchron and Blackrock Neurotech. The company has already conducted extensive tests on animals, particularly on monkeys, who reportedly have been able to play computer games using their minds alone in those tests.

Neuralink gets financial support for its endeavors, but it also faces continued criticism over its animal testing practices, which have raised alarms with some animal rights groups, like the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Last year, Reuters reported about internal complaints by Neuralink employees on rushed animal experiments that allegedly caused needless suffering and deaths.