Elon Musk, the founder of Neuralink, just announced on the social media platform X that yesterday (January 29), humans received the first brain-computer interface (Neuralink) chip implantation, and the implanter is recovering well. Musk revealed that the first product of brain-computer interface company Neuralink is called "Telepathy". According to Musk, he can control a phone or computer with just his mind, and use them to control almost any device. The initial users will be those who have lost the function of their limbs. Musk's brain-computer interface company is valued at nearly 36 billion!
Neuralink is a brain science company founded by Musk in 2016 with a number of scientists. As the name suggests, the company's main research direction is brain-computer interfaces – the development of a device that can be implanted in the brain to achieve "human-machine interaction". Last year's financing showed that Neuralink's valuation has reached US$5 billion (about 35.9 billion yuan).
The so-called "brain-computer interface" is to implant tiny electrodes in the brain and use an electric current to allow the computer to interact with brain cells. In 2019, Musk released his first product, which uses a laser to drill holes in the skull, and then bypasses the blood vessels in the brain and implants a line into the brain. In August 2020, in order to verify the effect of the brain-computer interface, researchers implanted devices in the bodies of three pigs, and Musk showed viewers the real-time transmission of the piglets' brain activity during the live broadcast.
According to Musk, Neuralink is designing a device that converts brain signals into action and will initially focus on two applications: one is to restore human vision, and the other is to help people who are unable to move their muscles to control devices such as smartphones, and even restore the whole body function of people with spinal cord injuries.
Neuralink's human trial of a precision robot implanted with a brain-computer interface was aimed at finding participants aged 22 and older who were paralyzed by ALS (due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and had not improved for at least a year after the injury, with the initial goal of allowing paralyzed people to operate a computer cursor or keyboard with their minds alone.
Neuralink, a brain-computer interface company owned by Musk, has attracted much attention since its inception and has indeed received high praise from the industry. As of the date of your inquiry (January 30, 2024), Neurallink's valuation has exceeded 35 billion RMB, showing the market's high recognition of the company's development prospects and technological potential. The company is committed to developing advanced brain-computer interface technology that aims to enable high-speed and efficient information exchange between the human brain and computers, and the research in this field is extremely cutting-edge and disruptive.
Neuralink's technological advancements, including successful animal trials and the announced first-in-human brain-computer interface chip implant trial, provide strong support for its valuation. These milestones not only verify its technical feasibility, but also indicate that it has broad application prospects in many fields such as medical rehabilitation, artificial intelligence integration, and cognitive science, which is one of the important reasons for its rising valuation.
It is important to note that for such a company that is at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and has not yet been commercialized on a large scale, its market capitalization or valuation often reflects the market's expectations of future potential rather than current profitability. As BCI technology continues to evolve and improve, as well as commercialization, Neuralink's valuation will be affected by factors such as more practical applications, market acceptance, and the regulatory environment.
The prospects for Musk's brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, are considered extremely promising and revolutionary. The company focuses on the research and development of advanced brain-computer interface technologies, which aim to enable high-speed communication between the human brain and electronic devices to treat neurological diseases, enhance human intelligence, and even explore the possibility of human-computer symbiosis.
Here are some key takeaways from Neuralink's future prospects:
1. Medical applications: One of Neuralink's original visions was to help patients with severe neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, ALS, etc.) regain motor and sensory function through brain-computer interface technology. Preliminary animal experiments have shown the effectiveness of the technique in some cases, and if human trials go well, it promises to be a major breakthrough in the medical field in the future.
2. Scientific exploration: Brain-computer interface technology can provide unprecedented access to brain activity data, which is of great significance for neuroscience research, mental health research, and understanding the nature of human consciousness and thinking.
3. Business applications: In the long run, Neuralink envisions technology that may be able to be used in areas such as education, entertainment, productivity improvement, game control, and even memory backup and reinforcement learning capabilities.
4. Social Implications and Ethical Discussions: As technology advances, brain-computer interfaces may raise a series of socio-ethical issues, such as privacy protection, ethical boundaries for human performance enhancement, and the risk of technology abuse.
5. Technical Challenges and Commercialization Progress: While the future is promising, the commercial application of BCI technology faces many technical and legal challenges, including safety, reliability, ease of use, cost control, and strict regulatory scrutiny.
Overall, Musk's Neuralink is an active exploration in the field of brain-computer interfaces, but it needs to overcome technical, ethical and legal hurdles to truly achieve widespread application. Despite this, Neuralink has attracted a lot of attention and support around the world due to its demonstrated scientific prowess and bold innovative ideas, and is regarded as one of the most promising companies in the field.