While one of Elon Musk’s many companies, Neuralink, may get the lion’s share of the headlines, it’s not the only brain control interface (BCI) on the market. The American company Paradomis is producing its own high-bandwidth brain interface, intended to restore speech in patients suffering from severe neurological deficiencies. Other companies like Synchron are also making rapid progress in the field, demonstrating that it is possible to implant devices in human patients without invasive open-brain surgery (while Musk’s company seeks to install its chips by drilling into the skull, a method as risky as it sounds).
China may also have beaten Musk with an implant that does not require cutting the dura mater, the outermost membrane surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Instead, it sits on top of the brain’s protective membrane. According to a report from Space Daily, the chip, called NEO, has been approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and is designed to help victims of paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries regain mobility. Neo has also been fast-tracked to enable co-payment coverage under the Chinese government-run Near Universal Health Coverage program, putting it in the process of integrating reimbursement.
A practical approach to brain implants
While Neuralink requires electrode wires to be implanted directly into brain tissue, the NEO system places eight sensors on the dura mater that then communicate with a robotic glove. The glove receives neural signals from a user and translates them into movement. This difference in approach highlights tradeoffs in BCI development in areas such as invasiveness, signal fidelity, and clinical adoption pathways, which could influence how investors and healthcare providers evaluate BCI technologies.
Neuralink has demonstrated promising early results, including allowing monkeys to play video games with their minds, but it continues to struggle with regulatory hurdles in the United States and has expanded its political and business efforts, including Musk’s recent hiring of federal lobbyists. It has bold ambitions, including cognitive enhancement and direct brain-AI interaction, but its long-term commercialization timeline remains uncertain. In comparison, companies like Neuracle have a more (initially) modest strategy, focusing on short-term medical benefits, regulatory approval, and then healthcare system expansion.
Competition is intensifying
BCI companies began popping up all over the world. In addition to Neuralink, Neuracle, and Synchron (headquartered in Brooklyn), companies such as Blackrock Neurotech have advanced BCI technology since 2008. Blackrock Neurotech, born from research at the University of Utah, pioneered a number of neural implants and recording systems that have played a central role in many of the industry’s most influential demonstrations, including computer, limb control remote and other assistive devices.
Synchron’s device, called Stentrode, is also impressive. Although Strentrode has not yet been fully approved commercially, it can be implanted into a blood vessel and does not require penetrating brain tissue, which is generally considered safer (and may find an easier path to regulatory approval) than Neuralink.
The broader implications are clear. The BCI race is not exclusively about the most advanced chips; it’s about providing safe, approved and accessible products at scale.
