Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk expects his brain-chip startup Neuralink to start its first human trial this year, he said on Friday in France.
Speaking at the VivaTech event in Paris, co-founder Musk said Neuralink plans to implant a tetraplegic or paraplegic patient during a webcast. While Musk didn't specify how many patients his company would implant or for how long, "it's looking like the first case will be later this year," said Musk, who is also CEO of electric carmaker Tesla, social media platform Twitter and the SpaceX rocket launch company.
Last month, Neuralink said it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its first-in-human clinical trial, a critical milestone for the startup as it faces U.S. probes over its handling of animal experiments. The FDA acknowledged in an earlier statement that the agency cleared Neuralink to use its brain implant and surgical robot for trials but declined to provide more details.