Timeline of Neuralink

From Timelines
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This is a timeline of Neuralink, a San Francisco-based neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk and others, which aims at developing implantable brain–machine interfaces (BMIs).

Big picture

Time period Phase Summary
1970s–2015 Foundations and Precedents Before Neuralink’s founding, the field of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) evolves through decades of foundational research. In the 1970s, UCLA researchers supported by the National Science Foundation and DARPA pioneer early attempts at EEG-based communication. The 1990s see significant technical milestones like the Utah electrode array, which enables high-resolution neural recordings. By 1998, the first brain implants are placed in paralyzed patients. The 2000s witness growing interest in brain simulation, exemplified by Ray Kurzweil’s predictions. Concurrently, new players like Emotiv and BrainCo begin developing consumer-facing neurotechnology. This period sets the stage for a convergence of neuroscience, computing, and AI—paving the way for commercial ventures aiming to merge human cognition with machines through increasingly miniaturized and precise neural devices.
2016–2018 Neuralink launch and early development Neuralink is founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and a group of engineers and neuroscientists aiming to develop ultra-high-bandwidth brain–machine interfaces. Musk had begun promoting the idea of a “neural lace” as a solution to the existential threat posed by artificial intelligence. In its early years, Neuralink acquires lab space in San Francisco, recruits talent, and begins animal research partnerships at UC Davis. The company operates in near secrecy, but Musk gradually hints at its ambitions—augmenting human cognition, treating neurological diseases, and eventually enabling symbiosis with AI. Key hires like Shivon Zilis and Alan Mardinly help define the startup’s direction. By 2018, Neuralink begins preparing for its first public disclosures while continuing animal experiments and device miniaturization.
2019–2020 First public demos and technical disclosure Neuralink breaks its silence with a public presentation showcasing its vision, early implant prototypes, and surgical robot capable of threading ultra-thin wires into the brain. Elon Musk describes near-term goals like treating epilepsy and long-term aspirations of memory storage and enhanced cognition. In 2020, the company receives FDA Breakthrough Device designation and begins preparing for clinical trials. August 2020 marks a turning point, with a live demonstration involving pigs implanted with Neuralink’s “Link V0.9” device. Viewers see real-time brain activity readings and learned about the wireless, coin-sized implant. Musk makes bold claims about future telepathy and digital memory, triggering excitement and skepticism. Neuralink begins transitioning from theoretical concepts to tangible, demonstrable BCI systems.
2021–2022 Refinement, challenges, and ethics scrutiny Neuralink’s demonstrations continue in 2021 with “MindPong,” where a monkey controls a video game using a wireless brain implant. Despite impressive feats, internal reports reveal complications—25 of 60 pigs are euthanized after implant failures. Co-founder Max Hodak’s departure raises questions about leadership stability. In 2022, the FDA initially rejects Neuralink’s application for human trials due to safety concerns like battery overheating and difficulty in removing the device. That year’s “Show & Tell” event displays a typing monkey and claims of near-term human studies. However, mounting criticism from animal rights groups and scrutiny from medical ethicists cast a shadow over Neuralink’s rapid development. Public transparency and research rigor become major issues, forcing the company to adapt its communication and compliance strategies.
2023–2025 Human trials and expansion In May 2023, Neuralink receives FDA approval for its first human clinical trial, the PRIME study. Recruitment begins in September, aiming to test its N1 implant and R1 surgical robot in patients with paralysis. The first implant is successfully placed in January 2024 in Noland Arbaugh, who demonstrates cursor control and gameplay. Subsequent patients, including a nonverbal ALS user, expand Neuralink’s scope to speech reconstruction and creative software interaction. Despite success, challenges emerge—most notably, thread retraction in the first patient, requiring software fixes. Regulatory achievements continue, with FDA designations for speech and vision restoration implants. By mid-2025, Neuralink secures $650 million in funding, implants five people, and launches international trials. The company transitions from theoretical promise to real-world patient use.

Full timeline

Year Month and date Event type Details
1970s Prelude Research on brain–computer interfaces begins at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under a grant from the National Science Foundation, followed by a contract from DARPA.[1][2]
1997 Prelude Dr. Richard Norman at the University of Utah develops the Utah electrode array, a tiny piece of silicon, only a quarter of an inch on its side, with 256 electrodes that can be attached to the central nervous system to listen to neural activity.[3]
1998 Prelude The first sensor is implanted in the brain of a paralyzed patient. Since then, at least about a dozen people would receive similar implants.[4]
2009 Prelude American inventor Raymond Kurzweil that by 2020 we’ll have "computers that are powerful enough to simulate the human brain. However, we won’t be finished yet with reverse engineering the human brain and understanding its methods".[5][6]
2011 Competition Emotiv is founded as a US-based bioinformatics company which works in understanding the human brain using electroencephalography (EEG).[7] It would later be listed among the top Neuralink competitors.[8]
2015 Competition BrainCo is founded. The company develops brain-machine interface (BMI) technology products including sensors, hardware, software, and AI. It would later be listed among the top Neuralink competitors.[8]
2016 June Prelude At Recode’s Code conference, South African entrepreneur Elon Musk discusses his "neural lace" proposal, a brain–computer interface.[9][10]
2016 July 11 Launch Neuralink is founded by Elon Musk, Ben Rapoport, Dongjin Seo, Max Hodak, Paul Merolla, Philip Sabes, Tim Gardner, Tim Hanson, and Vanessa Tolosa.[11][12]
2016 Competition Kernel is founded. It builds advanced neural interfaces to treat disease, illuminate the mechanisms of intelligence, and extend cognition. It would later be listed among the top Neuralink competitors.[8]
2017 January Company Elon Musk buys the name Neuralink from a pair of neurotechnology researchers that owned the trademark on "NeuraLink" since 2015 after creating their own startup company.[13]
2017 February Research Neuralink executive Jared Birchall submits a letter to the city of San Francisco's planning department giving some clues about the company’s plans and files permit to build biological research lab.[14]
2017 February Notable comment Elon Musk claims that "people would need to become cyborgs to be relevant in an artificial intelligence age."[15][16]
2017 March 28 Company Elon Musk confirms the existence of Neuralink, and reveals that a longer story about Neuralink would appear on explainer website Wait But Why in a week.[17][18]
2017 May Staff Shivon Zilis joins Neuralink as Project Director.[19]
2017 April 20 Review Wait But Why editor Tim Urban posts the first deep look at Neuralink, after Musk petition from about a month and a half before.[20] Musk confirms plans for the company, revealing he will be the chief executive of a startup that aims to merge computers with brains so humans could one day engage in “consensual telepathy.”[21]
2017 June Research Neuralink scientists start researching at the University of California, Davis campus.[22]
2017 July 19 Company Elon Musk talks about Neuralink in an interview at the ISS R&D Conference in Washington, DC., and says the reason he went to create Neuralink was primarily as an offset to the existencial risk associated with artificial intelligence.[23]
2017 August 25 Company Elon Musk tweets: "Neuralink is not seeking investors."[24]
2018 March Notable comment At a South by Southwest tech conference in Austin, Texas, Elon Musk calls AI more dangerous than nuclear warheads and says there needs to be a regulatory body overseeing the development of super intelligence.[25]
2018 March Research Report communicates that Neuralink has plans to test products on animals.[26]
2018 May Funding Neuralink agrees to fund primate research at the University of California. The company is expected to pay US$796,006 for research conducted at UC Davis' California National Primate Research Center, one of seven centers nationwide dedicated to the study of health and disease on primates.[27][28]
2018 August Staff Alan Mardinly joins Neuralink as Member of the Technical Staff.[29]
2018 November Company In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Elon Musk says Neuralink aspires to symbiotically merge human brains with a super digital intelligence that will serve as a tertiary cognition layer augmenting the human cortex and limbic systems.[30][31]
2018 November Company In an interview, Elon Musk hints that Neuralink would first introduce microcontrollers to further advance computer-brain interface technology, i.e., possibly unveiling an initial version of what will eventually become a “neural lace.”[32][33]
2018 November 26 Employment Elon Musk tweets mentioning Neuralink for the first time in 20 months, inviting people to apply for jobs at the firm alongside three of his other companies.[34][35]
2019 May Funding Bloomberg reports on Neuralink having raised US$39 million of its planned US$51 million funding target.[36]
2019 July 16 Company Elon Musk and Neuralink president Max Hodak host a presentation of the company in San Francisco, informing publicly on the latest news about the technology.[37]
2019 July 18 Company Elon Musk tweets about Neuralink: "Addressing epilepsy is likely one of the more near-term applications".[24]
2019 July Funding Neuralink cumulates US$158 million in funding (of which $100 million comes from Musk) and employs a staff of 90 employees.[38]
2019 August 28 Notable comment Elon Musk says during interview that computers are getting smarter, so much so that they could quickly surpass human intelligence "in every single way".[39][40]
2019 September 5 Competition American Internet entrepreneur Jag Singh publishes a project based on work at the MIT Media Lab to construct a brain–computer interface that allows users to telepathically query Google Search, anticipating Neuralink's BCI.[41][42]
2019 October Staff Joshua Hess joins Neuralink as Electrical Engineer.[43]
2020 January Research Elon Musk states that Neuralink is working on a product that could help restore vision and movement in people with neurological disorders.
2020 April Animal testing report Neuralink confirms receipt of FDA Breakthrough Device designation in July, highlighting regulatory progress amid its animal testing phases.
2020 May Company Max Hodak, Neuralink’s president, confirms ongoing work on robotic implantation surgery and micron-scale neural threads.
2020 July Technology demo prep Neuralink announces an upcoming live demonstration of its brain-computer interface.
2020 July Regulatory update Company discloses FDA awarded Breakthrough Device status to its implant system, allowing for expedited review and limited human use under special controls.
2020 Clinical trial According to July 19 Elon Musk's report, Neuralink human test of brain-computer interface could start around this year.[44][45][46]
2020 August 28 Demonstration Neuralink hosts a public event showcasing pigs implanted with its device, demonstrating real-time neural activity detection.
2020 August 28 Technology Elon Musk introduces the “Link V0.9” device: a coin-sized brain implant that fits under the skull and communicates wirelessly.
2020 August 28 Notable comment Musk says Neuralink could eventually allow people to record and replay memories, and potentially enable telepathy.
2020 August Technology demonstration Public live-stream showcases "Gertrude" the pig with the Link device, real-time neural signal reading during natural behavior and successful explant of an implant.
2020 August Design insights Elon Musk outlines device capabilities, including integration of motion, temperature, and pressure sensors, and potential to record or replay memories.
2020 August Ethical discussion Media commentary highlights key challenges such as biocompatibility, electrode longevity, risk of glial scarring, and unclear long-term functionality of implants.
2021 April 9 Demonstration Neuralink demonstrates “MindPong”: a macaque plays Pong using a wireless Neuralink implant.
2021 May Leadership change Max Hodak, Neuralink’s co‑founder and president, announces his departure from the company.
2021 Throughout year Animal testing report Internal sources reveal that 25 of ~60 pigs were implanted with incorrect device sizes, resulting in their euthanasia, triggering scrutiny of testing procedures.
2021 Late year Ethics concern Criticism mounts from animal welfare groups and government bodies over protocols in Neuralink's primate experiments.
2021 April 9 Demonstration Neuralink demonstrates “MindPong”: a macaque plays Pong using a wireless Neuralink implant :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}.
2021 May Leadership change Max Hodak, Neuralink’s co‑founder and president, announces his departure from the company.
2021 Throughout year Animal testing report Internal sources reveal that 25 of ~60 pigs were implanted with incorrect device sizes, resulting in their euthanasia, triggering scrutiny of testing procedures.
2021 Late year Ethics concern Criticism mounts from animal welfare groups and government bodies over protocols in Neuralink's primate experiments.
2022 April FDA rejection Neuralink’s initial IDE application for human trials is rejected by the FDA due to safety concerns, including potential device battery issues, electrode migration, and removal risk.
2022 October 23 Event update Elon Musk postpones the annual “Show & Tell” livestream to November 30 to give the team more development time.
2022 November 30 Demonstration The “Show & Tell” event showcases a monkey named “Sake” performing “telepathic typing” using a Neuralink implant; Musk states most FDA paperwork is submitted and human trials could begin within ~6 months.
2022 December Ethics scrutiny Animal welfare groups express concern over pain and deaths in Neuralink’s primate experiments during the Show & Tell; the Physicians Committee criticizes the company for withholding related data.
2023 May 25 Regulatory Neuralink receives U.S. FDA approval for its first-in-human clinical trial (Investigational Device Exemption).
2023 July 19 Regulatory update Federal oversight finds no new animal welfare violations beyond a 2019 incident, closing a USDA investigation.
2023 September 10 Public response Elon Musk responds on X, stating none of the monkeys died "as a result of an implant" and that terminal animals were used.
2023 September 19 Clinical trial recruitment Elon Musk’s Neuralink begins recruiting participants for its first human clinical study, the FDA-cleared PRIME trial. It aims to test the coin-sized N1 wireless brain-computer implant and the R1 surgical robot in people with cervical spinal cord injuries or ALS. The robot threads electrodes into the motor cortex; the implant then wirelessly sends signals to an app that turns thought into cursor or keyboard commands, marking an early step toward restoring mobility.[47]
2023 October Investigation Media reports highlight alleged animal welfare violations in Neuralink's past primate experiments, prompting public scrutiny.
2023 November Legal/Regulatory U.S. lawmakers urge the SEC to investigate Neuralink for potential violations regarding undisclosed risks in its testing practices.
2024 January 28 Clinical trial Noland Arbaugh becomes the first human to receive Neuralink’s first-generation Telepathy implant at Barrow Neurological Institute. He demonstrates control of a cursor by thought.
2024 February–March Clinical trial Arbaugh plays online chess and navigates a computer interface using the implant; however, ~85% of threads retract within a month, prompting software recalibration.
2024 August Clinical trial Second human participant (“Alex”) receives Telepathy implant; reported control of CAD design software and FPS gaming after placement closer to brain surface.
2025 January Clinical trial Third participant, Brad Smith (first nonverbal ALS patient), is implanted with Telepathy device; uses it to edit and narrate a YouTube video via mind-controlled cursor and AI voice reconstruction.
2025 May 1 Regulatory Neuralink’s speech restoration BCI receives FDA Breakthrough Device Designation.
2025 May 20 Future trial planning Elon Musk announces plans to initiate human trials for “Blindsight” vision-restoring implant by late 2025 or early 2026 at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (UAE study).
2025 June 2 Funding & trials Neuralink closes a US $650 million Series E funding round (valued at ~$9 billion); reports five patients with severe paralysis implanted across trials (PRIME, CONVOY) in U.S., Canada, UAE; robotic-arm trial (CONVOY) underway; vision/speech-restoration programs expanding.
2025 June 20s Safety setback Noland Arbaugh suffers electrode detachment accident—~85% of electrodes came loose from scarring, disabling PC control; he continues participation pending eventual explant in five years.
2029 Prediction According to 2009 Raymond Kurzweil prediction, by this "scientists will have reverse-engineered, modeled and simulated all the regions of the brain. That will provide humans with the software and algorithmic methods to simulate all of the human brain's capabilities including the emotional intelligence."[5][6]

Numerical and visual data

Google Scholar

The following table summarizes per-year mentions on Google Scholar as of August 11, 2021.

Year Neuralink
2016 8
2017 134
2018 292
2019 370
2020 596

The comparative chart below shows Google Trends data for Neuralink (Company), The Boring Company (Company) and OpenAI (Artificial intelligence company), from January 2004 to March 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.[48]

Google Ngram Viewer

The chart below shows Google Ngram Viewer data for Neuralink, from 2010 to 2019.[49]


Wikipedia Views

The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article Neuralink, on desktop, mobile-web, desktop-spider, mobile-web-spider and mobile app, from July 2015 to February 2021.[50]

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:


What the timeline is still missing

Timeline update strategy

See also

Official site

References

  1. ↑ Vidal, JJ (1973). "Toward direct brain-computer communication". Annual Review of Biophysics and Bioengineering. 2 (1): 157–80. doi:10.1146/annurev.bb.02.060173.001105. PMID 4583653.
  2. ↑ J. Vidal (1977). "Real-Time Detection of Brain Events in EEG" (PDF). IEEE Proceedings. 65 (5): 633–641. doi:10.1109/PROC.1977.10542.
  3. ↑ Markman, Jon. "Elon Musk's Other Big Start-Up, Neuralink, Is Gaining Momentum". thestreet.com. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  4. ↑ "Elon Musk's dreams of merging AI and brains are likely to remain just that — for at least a decade". theverge.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Neuralink: How the Human Brain Will Download Directly from a Computer". interestingengineering.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Ray Kurzweil: The Coming Singularity". youtube.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  7. ↑ "Emotiv". crunchbase.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  8. ↑ "Elon Musk Full interview Code Conference 2016". youtube.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Etherington, Darrell. "Elon Musk-backed Neuralink to detail its progress on upgrading the brain to keep pace with AI". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  10. ↑ "Neuralink". crunchbase.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  11. ↑ Masunaga, Samantha (21 April 2017). "A quick guide to Elon Musk's new brain-implant company, Neuralink". Los Angeles Times.
  12. ↑ "Meet the Guys Who Sold "Neuralink" to Elon Musk without Even Realizing It". technologyreview.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Elon Musk's Neuralink files permit to build biological research lab". teslarati.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  14. ↑ Isackson, Peter. "The Daily Devil's Dictionary: Will "Everyone" Benefit?". fairobserver.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  15. ↑ "Elon Musk says plan to merge humans with machines is aimed at stopping a 'Terminator'-style scenario". cnbc.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  16. ↑ "Neuralink". witter.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  17. ↑ Constine, Josh. "Elon Musk's brain interface startup Neuralink files $27M fundraise". techcrunch.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  18. ↑ "Shivon Zilis". linkedin.com. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  19. ↑ "Neuralink and the Brain's Magical Future". waitbutwhy.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  20. ↑ "Elon Musk Lays Out Plans to Meld Brains and Computers". wsj.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  21. ↑ "Elon Musk's Neuralink Startup Planned to Test on Animals, Report Claims". inverse.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  22. ↑ "Elon Musk - A.I., Biology, Neuralink". youtube.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  23. ↑ "Elon Musk: 'Mark my words — A.I. is far more dangerous than nukes'". cnbc.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  24. ↑ "Brain implants intended for humans to be tested on animals". endtimeheadlines.org. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  25. ↑ "Neuralink Is Funding Primate Research at the University of California". gizmodo.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  26. ↑ "Neuralink - UC Davis Primate Center - Services Agreement". scribd.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  27. ↑ "Alan Mardinly". linkedin.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  28. ↑ "Elon Musk on Joe Rogan - what is Neuralink". youtube.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  29. ↑ "Elon Musk's Neuralink Plans to Put Chips in Human Brains by 2020". syncedreview.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  30. ↑ "Elon Musk's Neuralink to livestream special project update on July 16". teslarati.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  31. ↑ "ELON MUSK LATEST INTERVIEW WITH AXIOS 25 NOVEMBER". youtube.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  32. ↑ "Elon Musk Breaks Twitter Silence on Secretive A.I.-Brain Firm Neuralink". inverse.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  33. ↑ "Neuralink". twitter.com. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  34. ↑ "Elon Musk's Neuralink startup raises $39 MILLION as it seeks to develop tech that will connect the human brain with computers". bak.megam.info. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  35. ↑ "Elon Musk's Neuralink Presentation: Live Recap of What Happened". heavy.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  36. ↑ Markoff, John (2019-07-16). "Elon Musk's Company Takes Baby Steps to Wiring Brains to the Internet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-17.
  37. ↑ "Elon Musk says computers will eventually surpass us in every single way". digitaltrends.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  38. ↑ "Elon Musk: Computers will surpass us 'in every single way'". cnbc.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  39. ↑ "Merging with AI: How to Make a Brain-Computer Interface to Communicate with Google using Keras and OpenBCI". reddit.com. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  40. ↑ "Merging with AI: How to Make a Brain-Computer Interface to Communicate with Google using Keras and OpenBCI". medium.com. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  41. ↑ "Joshua Hess". linkedin.com. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  42. ↑ "Elon Musk says Neuralink plans 2020 human test of brain-computer interface". cnet.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  43. ↑ "Elon Musk's Neuralink targets human trials for brain-machine interface in 2020". teslarati.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  44. ↑ "Elon Musk Plans to Start Putting Chips in Human Brains Next Year". highsnobiety.com. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  45. ↑ Matt Wilson (September 19, 2023). "Neuralink starts recruitment for first human trials". Drive Tesla Canada. Retrieved June 26, 2025.
  46. ↑ "Neuralink, The Boring Company and OpenAI". Google Trends. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  47. ↑ "Neuralink". books.google.com. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  48. ↑ "Neuralink". wikipediaviews.org. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
Retrieved from "http://timelines.issarice.com/index.php?title=Timeline_of_Neuralink&oldid=85874"