Neuralink

Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company (Fremont, CA, founded 2016). Co-founded by max-hodak, who left in 2021 and founded science-corp.

What it is

• N1 / Telepathy (motor): 1,024-electrode, thread-based penetrating array; first human implant Jan 2024 (Noland Arbaugh); multiple patients since; FDA Breakthrough Device designation for motor control.
• Blindsight (visual): cortical visual prosthesis — camera → implant in visual cortex, bypassing the eye and optic nerve; FDA Breakthrough Device designation (2024); Musk: “initially low resolution, like Atari graphics… potentially better than natural vision” (visible-spectrum and beyond).¹
• Funding: $650M Series E (June 2025) — most well-funded BCI company.

Contrast with Science Corp.

Neuralink’s ambition is the “full brain interface” — healthy humans, broad capabilities, long horizon to commercialization. Hodak’s counter-thesis (see max-hodak): disease-first, retina-first, and a clearly defined patient population is the fastest path to approval and revenue. As of Aug 2026, the contrast is stark: Neuralink’s products remain investigational, while Science’s PRIMA is commercially available in Europe (CE-marked, first BCI for form-vision restoration).²

Related pages

• max-hodak — co-founder who left
• science-corp — rival founded on the disease-first thesis
• brain-interface — cortical BCI subcategory (Blindsight)
• brain-computer-interface — category hub

References

• neuralink.com — Visual Prosthesis (Blindsight) trial page.
• Crunchbase News (2026-03): Neuralink $650M Series E, June 2025.
• MobiHealthNews (2024-09): Blindsight FDA Breakthrough Device designation report.
• Science Corp. website (2026) for the commercialization contrast.

Footnotes

1. neuralink.com/trials/visual-prosthesis/ ↩

2. raw/articles/science-corp-prima-ce-mark-2026.md ↩