Elon Musk’s Neuralink raises over $200 million from Google Ventures, others

Bengaluru: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup, Neuralink, has raised $205 million in a funding round led by Dubai-based venture capital firm Vy Capital, with participation from Alphabet Inc.’s Google Ventures.

Neuralink aims to implant wireless brain computer chips to help cure neurological conditions including Alzheimer’s, dementia and spinal cord injuries and fuse humankind with artificial intelligence. The firm released a video in April showing a male macaque playing a videogame ‘Mind Pong’ after getting chips embedded on each side of its brain.

“First @Neuralink product will enable someone with paralysis to use a smartphone with their mind faster than someone using thumbs,” Musk tweeted in June. “The device is implanted flush with skull & charges wirelessly, so you look & feel totally normal,” he added.