Milestones
- FDA approves first human study25 May 2023Complete.
- First human implant28 Jan 2024Complete.
- Threads pull out in first patientMay 2024Complete.
- Second participant implantedAug 2024Complete.
- Canada approves a trialNov 2024Complete.
- First UK implantsOct 2025Complete.
- 21 participants implanted28 Jan 2026Complete.
- Main trial toward FDA approvalNowCurrent milestone.
Most important updates
- 3 Oct 2025
- May 2024
- 20 Mar 2024
- 29 Jan 2024
- 25 May 2023
Current obstacles
- Threads pulling outThreads can pull out of the brain after surgery, cutting working electrodes; design and surgery changes aim to stop this.
- Lasting for yearsA permanent implant must last years or be safely replaced, which hasn't been shown yet.
- Scaling surgeryGoing from dozens to thousands of implants needs faster surgery and more trained centers.
Physics limits
- The brain walls off foreign objectsWithin weeks, support cells wrap anything pushed into brain tissue in scar, moving neurons away from electrode tips. On most penetrating implants, recorded signals fade over months to years.
- Heat caps the data rateImplants may warm nearby brain tissue by only about 1 °C. That fixes the power budget for amplifiers and radio, which limits how many channels can be read and sent out wirelessly.
- 1,024 electrodes see a tiny patch of brainEach electrode hears a few nearby neurons, so the implant samples at most thousands of the brain's ~86 billion. Decoding can only use what that small patch of motor cortex encodes.
How it works
1. Implant
Robot inserts threads
A surgeon removes a small disc of skull; the robot inserts 64 threads into the brain, and the implant seals the hole.
2. Record
Listen to brain cells
Electrodes pick up nearby brain cells firing; the chip spots and compresses these signals in real time.
3. Transmit
Bluetooth to a computer
Data streams wirelessly to an app that decodes it; the battery charges wirelessly.
4. Decode
Imagined movement to action
AI turns brain activity for attempted hand movements into cursor moves and clicks.
Spec sheet
| Spec | N1 implant (Telepathy) |
|---|---|
| Electrodes | 1,024R (reported) |
| Threads | 64 (16 electrodes each)R (reported) |
| Data link | Bluetooth, fully wirelessR (reported) |
| Power | Rechargeable battery, inductive chargingR (reported) |
| Implant size | ~23 mm diameter, ~8 mm thickR (reported) |
| Placement | Hand-knob area of motor cortexR (reported) |
| Insertion | R1 surgical robotR (reported) |
| Participants implanted | 21 (Jan 2026)R (reported) |
R reported by the company
Papers & demos
- Mar 2024demoFirst PRIME participant livestreams playing chess by thought (opens wired.com)First public demo of the N1 in a human.
- Apr 2021demoMonkey plays Pong with a wireless Neuralink implant (opens neuralink.com)Public demo of wireless cursor control by a monkey.
- Oct 2019paperAn integrated brain-machine interface platform with thousands of channels (J Med Internet Res) (opens doi.org)Neuralink's first technical description of its threads, robot and chip.
Update log
Wed 28 Jan
- Minor: BlogTest
Fri 3 Oct 2025
- Major: RegulatorTest
Tue 9 Sep 2025
- Minor: XTest
Fri 9 May 2025
- Minor: RegulatorTest
Mon 25 Nov 2024
- Minor: RegulatorTest
Mon 20 May 2024
- Minor: PressRegulatory
May 2024
- Major: BlogTest
Wed 20 Mar 2024
- Major: LivestreamTest
Tue 20 Feb 2024
- Minor: PressTest
Mon 29 Jan 2024
- Major: XTest
Tue 19 Sep 2023
- Minor: PressRegulatory
Thu 25 May 2023
- Major: XRegulatory
About Neuralink
Neuralink
N1 brain implant, surgical robot, Blindsight
Company co-founded by Elon Musk that builds a fully implanted, wireless brain–computer interface. A robot places 1,024 electrodes on 64 thin threads into the brain, letting paralyzed people control computers by thought. Trials run in the US, Canada, UK and UAE.
- First human implant in Jan 2024; 21 people implanted across its trials as of Jan 2026.
- In early 2024 threads pulled out of the first patient's brain and many channels went quiet; software fixes won back much of it.
- Blindsight, for blindness, got FDA Breakthrough status in Sep 2024; first human implant awaits approval.
- Founded
- 201610 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Private
- Valuation
- $9BprivateJun 2025
- Raised
- $930M2 rounds
- Last round
- Series E · $650MJun 2025
- Coverage
- 2 programs · 15 updateslatest 28 Jan 2026checked 25 Sep
- Lead investors
- Founders Fund
- People
- Elon Musk (opens en.wikipedia.org)Co-founderDJ SeoCo-founder and President