Elon Musk's brain-machine interface startup, Neuralink raises $205 million

Elon Musk's futuristic brain-computer interface business, Neuralink said that it had raised $205 million in series C funding from investors including Robert Nelson, Ken Howery, and Fred Ehrsam.

In a blog post published on Thursday, Neuralink said that the current investment round was headed by Dubai-based venture company Vy Capital. It comes two years after Neuralink raised $51 million in a prior round, according to filings.

"Our Series C funding round of $205 million, led by Vy Capital, with participation from Google Ventures, DFJ Growth, Valor Equity Partners, Craft Ventures, Founders Fund, and Gigafund," the company said in a statement.

Neuralink intends to implant wireless brain-computer chips to aid in the treatment of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia, and spinal cord injuries, as well as to merge humanity with artificial intelligence.

The company's first products are aimed at quadriplegics, who are unable to engage with many of today's technologies, and it is preparing for human trials.

“The first indication this device is intended for is to help quadriplegics regain their digital freedom by allowing users to interact with their computers or phones in high bandwidth and naturalistic way,” the company said.

Neuralink, which Musk co-founded in 2016, will use the funds to sell its first product, N1 Link, as well as to accelerate the research and development of future products.

Musk has a track record of bringing together different expertise to build technology that was previously exclusive to research labs through businesses like Tesla Inc, SpaceX, and Boring Co.

The company was founded to help those with brain injuries in the near term and reduce AI risk to humanity in the long term.

The mission of the company is to create brain-machine interfaces that treat various brain-related ailments, with the ultimate goal of creating a whole-brain interface capable of more closely connecting biological and artificial intelligence.

Picture Credits: Scroll