Elon Musk-backed Neuralink raises USD 280M in Series D financing

Neuralink, the Elon Musk-backed brain-computer interface (BCI) maker, announced that it raised $280 million in a Series D financing.

The Founders Fund, founded by billionaire Peter Thiel among others, led the round.

Neuralink made its announcement in a post on “X,” (formerly “Twitter”) the social media platform owned by Musk.

“We’re happy to announce our $280M Series D round led by @foundersfund,” the post said. “We’re extremely excited about this next chapter at Neuralink.”

Neuralink develops an implant called the N1 that comes in at about the size of a coin. Remotely rechargeable, the implant goes along with electrode-laced threads that go further into the brain. Neuralink also has an R1 robot meant to be programmed to implant the BCI system while avoiding vasculature.

The company designed its system to enable the user to control a computer or mobile device anywhere they go.

Musk previously said Neuralink had planned to file for FDA approval for human trials in 2020, but it hit a few snags along the way. In 2022, Neuralink and the University of California, Davis, faced accusations of “egregious violations of the Animal Welfare Act” by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). They cited documents obtained through a public records lawsuit. The allegations claimed that Neuralink caused extreme suffering in monkeys.

Musk said near the end of last year that the company planned for a first-in-human implant within the next six months. Shortly after a “show-and-tell” event, Neuarlink reportedly faced a U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General animal welfare investigation.

However, the company finally cleared the regulatory hurdle for a first-in-human implant in May.

Neuralink isn’t the only player in the BCI space
Synchron represents one of the leaders in the burgeoning BCI space. It develops the catheter-delivered Stentrode BCI implant. Company officials believe they represent the only BCI company tapping into blood vessels to capture signals from the brain. The company has the backing of Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, too.

Blackrock Neurotech, another competitor, develops the Utah Array. They’ve implanted it in patients since 2004 through research studies, with zero FDA-reported serious adverse events. It also unveiled a next-gen BCI that comes in thinner than an eyelash almost in the form of a thin piece of lace.

Precision Neuro, co-created by a founding member of Elon Musk’s Neuralink BCI venture, has been developing its BCI since 2021. Benjamin Rapoport, a former part of the Neuralink effort, started the company with private equity investor Michael Mager. The company completed the first-in-human procedures for a pilot clinical study of its neural implant system. MassDevice