SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 28, 2026, 11:26 (PST)
- Neuralink reports that 21 participants are currently enrolled in its global human trials for the brain implant
- The company had earlier confirmed that 12 individuals received the implant, using it to operate devices with their thoughts
- Neuralink reports no serious device-related adverse events to date
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant company, announced Wednesday that it now has 21 participants enrolled in its trials worldwide, two years after starting human testing. This is an increase from the 12 users reported last September, who were already controlling digital and physical devices with their thoughts. The company targets people with conditions like spinal cord injuries and says it hasn’t recorded any serious device-related adverse events. Neuralink added that expanding the trials will help it “better understand these variations” and refine both its hardware and implantation procedures. (Reuters)
This new number is significant since Neuralink has shared very few concrete stats while pushing to expand its tightly scrutinized experiment into a wider clinical trial. Having more participants allows companies to detect safety and performance trends that smaller, early-stage studies with single-digit subjects often miss.
Implantable brain-computer interfaces are transitioning from lab experiments to actual use by people with paralysis, drawing increased regulatory attention. The goal is straightforward but tough to achieve: consistently decode brain signals and translate them into reliable control of computers or devices, every single day.
Neuralink hit the two-year milestone with a blog post called “Two Years of Telepathy.” They described Telepathy as their first product, designed to let people with paralysis control computers, phones, and robotic limbs using only their thoughts. (Neuralink)
Musk has pegged 2026 as the year Neuralink scales up. On Dec. 31, he posted on X that the company will begin “high-volume production” of its brain-computer interface devices and switch to a fully automated surgical process in 2026. Reuters reported that a patient has already used the implant to play video games, browse the internet, post on social media, and control a laptop cursor. (Reuters)
A brain-computer interface, or BCI, captures brain signals and turns them into commands—like moving a cursor or picking letters on a screen. Neuralink’s method involves an implanted device, which raises serious questions about safety, durability, and how simple it is to update or remove the system.
The technology remains in its early stages, and setbacks are expected. In May 2024, Neuralink revealed that tiny wires implanted in its first patient had shifted out of place. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the company plans to fix this by embedding some wires deeper into the brain once the FDA approves implantation in a second patient. (Reuters)
Neuralink isn’t the only player here. Brooklyn startup Synchron offers a less invasive approach, implanting a tiny electrode array inside a brain blood vessel. CEO Tom Oxley told TIME, “It’s transformative that there’s now a potential therapy to overcome a broken nervous system.”
Other teams are working on higher-bandwidth implants designed to restore speech and communication. In November, Paradromics announced that the FDA had greenlit its first long-term clinical trial. The company plans to implant two volunteers early this year in a safety-focused study aimed at real-time speech restoration, Nature reported. (Nature)
Neuralink now faces the challenge of proving that scaling up participant numbers leads to reliable, consistent outcomes. Their assertion of zero serious device-related adverse events will be scrutinized as the program expands to more sites and patients, especially with competitors racing to develop scalable products from their own trials.
