Elon Musk wants to put computer chips in people’s brains and he’s gotten $205 million in funding from companies like Google to make it happen.
It may sound nefarious on the surface, but Musk’s plan is to develop the chip called Neuralink to help people with neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia and spinal cord injuries, Reuters reported.
Dubai-based venture capital firm Vy Capital and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Ventures contributed to the funding needed to get the startup off the ground.
Neuralink has been seen to work in primates.
In April, the company released a video of a macaque playing a videogame after having the chips implanted in its brain, Reuters reported. It was also tested on pigs, CNBC reported.
Musk then tweeted, saying “First @Neuralink product will enable someone with paralysis to use a smartphone with their mind faster than someone using thumbs.”
He then wrote that eventually the chips will be linked to “body motor/sensory neuron clusters, thus enabling, for example, paraplegics to walk again.”
Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 and will use the money raised to take the N1 Link to market and provide future research and development, Reuters reported.
Neuralink raised $51 million two years ago, CNBC reported.
It is now taking the first steps toward 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 a high bandwidth and naturalistic way,” the company said, according to CNBC.