Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-implant company, has raised $280 million in new funding from investors after securing US approval in June to start human clinical trials. The firm wants to help treat people with paralysis and Alzheimer’s and is one of the biggest players in a growing field of neurotechnology companies, which connect computers to the brain and are increasingly using artificial technology to analyse brain activity. Last month Unesco, the UN’s cultural and scientific body, said AI had put neurotechnology “on steroids”, estimating that private investment in the sector had grown more than 20 times in the decade to 2020, reaching $7.3 billion. Unesco has called for more regulation to address privacy concerns related to how people’s neural data is used and stored. The UN’s human rights body, OHCHR, is also meeting in Geneva this week to discuss neurotechnology risks.
Photograph: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
