Brain chip 'Telepathy' implanted in a human for the first time

The American billionaire, owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X, announced that Neuralink, the neurotechnology company he founded, has implanted a brain chip into a human for the first time. Stating that the recovery process is going well, Musk noted that the initial results are "promising."

Musk stated that the name of the first Neuralink product is "Telepathy" and added: "Telepathy will make it possible to control your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking." Noting that the first users will be individuals who have lost the ability to use their limbs, Musk said, "Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer.

That is the goal." The British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died on March 14, 2018, at the age of 76, lived in a wheelchair due to ALS. The famous cosmologist, who lost his ability to speak in the late 1970s, was able to communicate with people from 1986 until his death thanks to a computer mounted on his chair that could convert his writing into speech.

STUDIES WILL LAST 6 YEARS

Musk and his team tested the chips, which are thinner than a human hair, on monkeys and laboratory mice. After the chips, which are placed in the part of the brain that controls movement intention, successfully interpreted brain signals and transmitted them to devices, Neuralink applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA granted approval for human testing in May 2023. The experimental implant "Telepathy," which runs on a wirelessly rechargeable battery, is the beginning of trials that will continue until 2030.

COMPANY VALUE REACHED 5 BILLION DOLLARS

Elon Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 with an investment of 100 million dollars. The company's value, which reached 2 billion dollars in 2021, rose even further after the announcement that "human trials will be conducted." While world-renowned news agencies reported in July 2023 that Neuralink's value had exceeded 5 billion dollars, the following comment was made: "Neuralink shares have been marketed to investors privately in recent days at a valuation of 7 billion dollars; this corresponds to 55 dollars per share."

EVEN THOSE WITH A SEVERED SPINAL CORD WILL BE ABLE TO WALK

In a 2022 interview, Elon Musk spoke ambitiously: "An application will focus on the motor cortex and restore full body functionality for people with severed spinal cords. We are confident that there are no physical limitations to restoring full body functionality. We will be able to start testing motor cortex technology in humans in as little as six months. Frankly, we want to be extremely careful before implanting a device into a human and ensure that it will work well."