Neuralink Unveils Ambitious Roadmap: Restoring Vision by 2026 and Full Human-AI Integration by 2028

“STAR Market Daily” June 30th News (Editor: Song Ziqiao)On June 27, local time, Elon Musk led the Neuralink brain-computer interface team in holding a one-hour press conference, showcasing the latest progress and a three-year roadmap.

According to reports, Neuralink currently has seven trial participants, including four patients with spinal cord injuries and three patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). On average, participants use the device for approximately 50 hours per week, with peak usage exceeding 100 hours, indicating that they are using it during nearly all waking hours.

Through Neuralink’s “Telepathy” product, they are able to control games such as Mario Kart and Call of Duty using brain signals, and even manipulate a robotic arm to write with their thoughts, thereby re-establishing interaction with the outside world.

Neuralink has currently established three major product lines (as listed below). The extension of usage duration among trial participants represents a critical leap for brain-computer interface technology, marking its transition from a laboratory concept to clinical practicality.

Telepathy: For patients with movement disorders, 64-channel devices have achieved mind-controlled operation of electronic devices and robotic arms. The collaborative control of a Tesla robotic hand demonstrated in the Alex case marks that the technology has reached the threshold for practical application in neural prosthetics.

Blindsight: Focused on visual reconstruction by stimulating the visual cortex with high-channel-count electrodes, aiming to achieve black-and-white contour perception by 2026, with potential future integration with VR/AR technologies to construct digital vision;

Deep: Focused on the field of neuromodulation, this approach regulates abnormal neuronal firing through deep brain electrode implantation. Treatment protocols for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and depression have entered the animal experimentation stage.

Neuralink's Ultimate Goal Is to Achieve a Whole-Brain Interface, namely, the ability to monitor and write to neurons in any region of the brain, achieving deep connectivity between the biological brain and machines through high-speed wireless transmission. This step signifies that the human brain can be transformed into a “bio-digital” brain, enabling literal “mechanical ascension” with the aid of AI technology. Musk stated,With Neuralink, every human can control a Tesla Optimus with their mind.Robot, meaning that humanoid robots will bypass the complex phase of motion programming and directly receive raw commands from the human brain, achieving true "movement following thought."

To this end, Neuralink has unveiled its three-year plan for the future—

End of 2025: Implant devices in the speech cortex to decode silent “intended speech,” i.e., directly decode conscious words from brain signals and convert them into speech.

2026: Increase the number of electrode channels to 3,000 to explore vision restoration for the blind. The initial goal is low-resolution visual restoration, while the ultimate goal is to enable humans to possess superhuman multi-spectral vision, allowing them to perceive radar, infrared, and ultraviolet light.

2027: Increase the number of electrodes to 10,000, achieving multi-device implantation for the first time (motor cortex, speech cortex, or visual cortex).

2028: Increase the number of electrodes to 25,000, enabling comprehensive access to any brain region and reaching deeper brain areas to treat psychiatric disorders, neuropathic pain, and other conditions.Exploring Deep Integration with AI: Envisioning Universal Human-AI Interconnectivity。

Also unveiled at the press conference was Neuralink’s second-generation surgical robot. The new version accelerates the electrode thread implantation speed to 1.5 seconds per thread, an 11-fold improvement over the previous generation, and enables electrode implantation into regions more than 50 millimeters beneath the cerebral cortex.

Currently, the global development of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology is characterized by parallel breakthroughs across multiple technical pathways. Significant advances have been made in invasive, semi-invasive, and non-invasive technologies, which, empowered by decoding algorithms, are jointly driving the industry’s transition from laboratory research to clinical application.

According to Precedence Research statistics, the global brain-computer interface (BCI) market size was $2.62 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach approximately $12.4 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.35%. The technology holds immense market potential and promising development prospects across multiple sectors, including healthcare, entertainment, smart homes, and military applications.

Countries around the world are intensifying their strategic layouts, and China attaches great importance to the development of the brain-computer interface (BCI) industry. The 14th Five-Year Plan explicitly lists BCI as a key area for future industrial breakthroughs. Policies have been successively introduced from the central to local governments to accelerate the development of the BCI industry, promote large-scale commercial implementation, and continuously expand application scenarios.

Kaiyuan Securities stated that the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) is accelerating, with promising prospects for commercial implementation. Non-invasive BCI products are leading in commercialization, with multiple products already available both domestically and internationally. In contrast, the development of invasive/semi-invasive BCIs has been relatively slower; leading companies in China and abroad are currently at the product registration or clinical trial stage, but the future outlook remains broad.

According to incomplete statistics, domestic industry chain-related stocks include: 1) Hardware equipment:Hanwei Technology，Jiahe Intelligence，Guide Infraredetc., 2) Brain-Computer Interface Applications:Zhongke Information，iFlytek，Intretech，Dinake，Yanshan Technology，Chengyitongetc.

Responsible Editor: Yu Jian SF069