Ilona Mask’s company Neuralink Corp., which specializes in the creation of brain implants, has successfully secured $280 million in investments for the development of its technology. The announcement was made on the company’s official Twitter account.
The main investor in Neuralink was Founders Fund, backed by renowned billionaire Peter Thiel, who is the co-founder of PayPal and was also the first external investor in Facebook.
Neuralink is rapidly advancing in the booming field of neurotechnology. According to PitchBook, startups in this sector have already attracted a total of $143 million in investments this year.
A notable competitor to Neuralink, Synchron Inc., started conducting clinical trials on patients in the United States last year, ahead of Neuralink. However, Neuralink recently obtained approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct its own clinical trials. The innovative device developed by Neuralink allows for a direct connection between the human brain and a computer, requiring surgical intervention in the skull.
It is important to mention that Neuralink’s activities have raised concerns among environmental groups due to their use of animal testing. The company has conducted experiments on animals, including implanting a chip into a pig’s brain embryo in 2020 and demonstrating a monkey playing pong using a chip in 2021.
Currently, an investigation is underway regarding possible violations of hazardous materials transportation standards by Neuralink.
* The social network referred to in the article is Twitter, which is prohibited in the Russian Federation.
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