Neuralink Announces Major Breakthrough in Brain-Computer Interface: Trial Participants Expanded to Seven, Paving the Way for Humanoid Robot Control

In the future, humans are expected to directly control humanoid robots through brain-computer interfaces.Robot。

On June 27, local time, Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company under Elon Musk, released an hour-long video showcasing their latest research achievements and product development directions.

In the video, Neuralink unveiled its detailed development roadmap for the coming years: In the fourth quarter of 2025, Neuralink plans to perform implants in the speech cortex, with the aim of directly decoding silent “intended speech.”

By 2026, the number of electrodes in the implanted chip will increase to 3,000, and the first participant in the “Blindsight” project will also be enrolled. This project captures images via a camera and converts the information into electrical signals to stimulate the visual cortex, helping blind individuals regain their vision.

In 2027, the number of electrodes will further increase to 10,000, enabling multi-device implantation, such as simultaneous implants in the motor, speech, and visual cortices.

By 2028, the number of electrodes will exceed 25,000, enabling access to deeper brain regions for the treatment of psychiatric disorders and neuropathic pain, while also initiating exploration into deep integration with AI. Neuralink believes that, if all goes well, by 2028, it may be possible for all humans to be interconnected with AI, effectively transforming everyone into cyborgs.

Neuralink’s ultimate goal is to build a “whole-brain interface,” which refers to the ability to write information to neurons anywhere in the brain, enabling high-bandwidth connectivity between the biological brain and external machines. This can be achieved through fully automated surgery, with the device ready for use within 24 hours.

Neuralink aims to address all known neurological disorders, and even unlock the full potential of the human brain, ushering in a new era, by implanting devices with hundreds of thousands to millions of channels.

Currently, Neuralink’s three products each target specific indications: “Telepathy” is designed for patients with motor impairments due to spinal cord injury or stroke, enabling them to control computers and robotic arms via thought using high-channel-count devices, thereby restoring autonomy in daily life; “Blindsight” aims to assist individuals with visual impairment by transmitting information to the visual cortex through high-channel-count technology to help restore visual perception; and “Deep,” a neuromodulation product, targets patients with neuromodulatory disorders, psychiatric conditions, and neuropathic pain, employing electrodes implanted deep into various brain regions to modulate neuronal activity, thus enhancing therapeutic efficacy and quality of life.

According to reports, the number of subjects in Neuralink’s trials has reached seven, including four patients with spinal cord injury and three patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). These subjects are using the relevant devices frequently, with data showing an average weekly usage time of approximately 50 hours, peaking at over 100 hours.

Notably, Alex, a patient with spinal cord injury, will in the future be connected to the robotic hand of Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, to perform more complex tasks. Musk stated that in the future, people may be able to fully control Optimus’s body through Neuralink.

Neuralink, founded in 2016, primarily focuses on brain-computer interfaces, aiming to achieve “human-brain–machine interaction” by developing implantable devices.

In late 2023, Neuralink announced the completion of the world’s first human brain-computer interface implantation trial. The chip, named “Telepathy,” is coin-sized and requires craniotomy for implantation, during which 64 electrode threads finer than human hair are inserted into the motor cortex to receive neural signals.

On June 2 local time, Neuralink announced that it had raised $650 million in its latest funding round. Following the previous round of financing, Neuralink’s valuation had already reached $9 billion; with this latest infusion, the company’s valuation will surpass the $10 billion mark.

By Wu Yuli, The Paper reporter

Responsible Editor: Wei Zirong