Why Brain Implants Are More Than A Sci-Fi Fantasy

Science fiction has long imagined a world where our brains interact with machines to restore and augment our abilities - think of the neural implants that connected to Geordi La Forge's visor in Star Trek or allowed Alex Murphy to be reborn as cyborg law enforcer in RoboCop.

In the real world, researchers have been working for decades on so-called brain-computer interfaces to help people who suffer from paralysis, blindness, hearing loss, and more, regain function.

Some individuals have used these devices to control a computer cursor with their minds; others have managed to move a robotic arm or transcribe some of their thoughts into text.

The technology is still nascent and the number of people who have received implants is only in the hundreds. Just a few companies have received regulatory approval to progress beyond clinical trials to commercial use - and even that's for limited applications.

But the industry could be reaching an inflection point thanks to rapid advances in hardware and artificial intelligence models that can decode neural signals.

The potential of brain-computer interfaces has attracted the interest of billionaires including Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Some of them are betting these devices will one day become everyday consumer tech that can unlock superhuman powers.

What Is A Brain-computer Interface?

A brain-computer interface, or BCI, connects the brain directly to an electronic device, such as a computer, bypassing the rest of the body.

The interface is designed to detect brain activity - for example, the electrical signals generated by neurons - and translate it into commands that can control machines.

BCIs offer hope to people who've suffered damage to the nerves between their brain and various muscles. The interfaces could help them communicate if they're unable to speak, or allow them to use their minds to control external devices if they're paralysed.

This could improve the quality of life for stroke patients and individuals with debilitating neurological conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

BCIs can also stimulate the brain with information from the outside world. This could allow people with vision loss to see or those with hearing loss to hear.

While patients with impaired hearing have been fitted with cochlear implants since the 1960s, these devices connect a "sound processor" on the outside of the head to the auditory nerve rather than to the brain directly.

In theory, BCIs could send signals to change neural activity, too. They have the potential to target specific areas of the brain that have been linked to neurological and mental health disorders.

Implants that deliver targeted electrical pulses for "deep brain stimulation" have been used as a medical treatment for decades, including to reduce tremors from Parkinson's disease.

However, these are generally considered a distinct and less sophisticated form of neurostimulation to the BCIs currently under development.

Are These Devices Actually Implanted Into The Brain?

Some BCIs have electrodes that stick into the brain, some sit on top of the brain but still inside the skull, and others are non-invasive devices that are placed on the outside of the head.

There's much debate over how close an interface needs to be to the brain in order to read useful information and stimulate neurons effectively.

Biological cells are being explored as a means of connecting a BCI to the brain instead of wires. California-based Science Corp. is developing a "biohybrid" device that uses a layer of neurons to form a bridge with the brain tissue.

Many companies are also working with sound waves instead of electrical signals. In the US, this includes startups Merge Labs, co-founded by Altman, and Nudge, founded by crypto billionaire Fred Ehrsam.

In China, Gestala, co-founded by Chinese internet billionaire Chen Tianqiao, emerged this year as the country's first BCI company focused on ultrasound.

How Advanced Is Brain-Computer Interface Technology?

In the early days of BCI development, it was novel for a person to be able to move a cursor on a computer screen with their mind. Back then, the devices were big and clunky and physically connected to computers.

Now, there are experimental wireless devices that enable individuals to operate computers, tablets and smart home gadgets with just their thoughts.

Some people have been able to use BCIs to manipulate robotic arms to pick up and move objects.

There have been notable advancements in restoring speech. Recent breakthroughs include decoding "inner speech," whereby a BCI is able to pick up signals from the brain when a person thinks about what they want to say and translate them into words that appear on a screen.

This is a step up from decoding "attempted speech," which involves recognizing the neural signals a person generates when they try to physically produce speech rather than just imagining the words.

Research teams at Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley are among the pioneers developing BCIs to restore speech.

Scientists have also made progress in giving blind people "form vision." Light-sensitive cells on the retina can be damaged by diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in older adults that affects around 200 million people around the world.

The startup Science has built an ultrathin, wireless microchip to replace the function of these photoreceptors.

Its PRIMA implant, which is awaiting regulatory approval for commercial use, is designed to be placed on the back of the eye and receive infrared light signals from a pair of high-tech glasses that capture images of the outside world.

The chip converts this light into electrical stimulation for the brain, enabling vision-impaired people to see shapes and even read. It can only provide black-and-white vision for now, but is still a big step up from previous technology that just allowed a person to see flashes of light.

Science announced in March that it had closed a $230 million funding round as it expands clinical trials and looks to bring PRIMA to the market.

Who Are Some Of The Big Names In This Field?

Neuralink Corp., co-founded by Musk in 2016, is the poster child of brain-computer interfaces, having both advanced the technology and brought it into mainstream discourse. Its device, which is about the size of a US quarter, has been implanted in the brains of more than 20 patients, who have been able to control a computer to browse the internet and play online games.

As is typical of a company owned by Musk, Neuralink has ambitious plans to scale up. It wants to put its chips in 20,000 people per year by 2031 and generate at least $1 billion in annual revenue, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.

Neuralink has been a leader in fundraising, accounting for a sizable chunk of the more than $2.75 billion invested in major US BCI companies to date.

It closed a $650 million funding round last year and, according to PitchBook data, has a valuation of more than $9.5 billion.

Merge Labs, a newer kid on the block from Musk's friend-turned-rival Altman, aims to build a device that isn't implanted in the brain and said in January it had raised $252 million.

It's not clear what type of BCI Merge will ultimately build, but the company has considered genetically altering brain cells to make it easier for a device to detect and modify their activity, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Scientists have been studying "sonogenetics" for years, looking at how genes that encode proteins that are responsive to ultrasound can be delivered to a target cell.

Elsewhere in the US, Blackrock Neurotech's Utah Array has the longest record of human testing, stretching back around two decades, and the company has implanted BCIs in more than 55 patients.

Paradromics Inc. tested its device in its first human patient in May last year and started its first clinical trial this year.

Precision Neuroscience Corp.'s device - an array of microelectrodes that's thinner than a human hair and sits on top of the brain tissue without penetrating it - was granted clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration in March 2025 for commercial use for less than 30 days to record, monitor and stimulate brain activity.

The company isn't yet marketing its BCI for commercial use but is testing it in clinical studies. The device had been implanted in more than 85 patients as of the end of April, according to Precision.

Synchron Inc., backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, is focusing on technology that's even less invasive and doesn't require cutting into the skull.

It's developed a stent-like product that can be inserted through a patient's jugular vein until it reaches a blood vessel on top of the brain, and then it reads the electrical activity from there.

The device has been tested in 10 people so far and Synchron is working on a more advanced version.

What About Progress In China?

Chinese companies are relative latecomers to the cutting-edge field of invasive BCIs and have implanted their devices in fewer patients than US rivals.

Comparing the performance of various systems around the world is difficult as there's little published research for independent scientists to analyse. Still, it's apparent that startups in China are making rapid progress.

StairMed Technology Co. paved the way for Chinese BCIs by becoming the country's first company to test an invasive implant in a clinical trial in March last year.

That was roughly 14 months after Neuralink took the same step. StairMed says that its implant, which is powered by an external battery, enabled a paraplegic patient to play a computer game using only his thoughts.

It plans to implant its device in 40 more people this year.

NeuroXess Technology notched another milestone for China in December as the first Chinese company to implant a wireless device with a built-in battery.

In March of this year, Chinese regulators approved a BCI developed by Neuracle Technology (Shanghai) Co. for limited commercial use.

The wireless, coin-sized device is designed for people with spinal cord injuries, enabling control of a robotic hand that can grab and hold objects.

Companies in China are being supported by state and local policy, which could ease regulatory bottlenecks and accelerate BCI development.

The government's latest Five-Year Plan, which sets out its economic priorities until the end of the decade, aims to foster BCIs as a future driver of growth and channel more funding to the industry.

China's top-down efforts have already had success in other sectors - the "Made in China 2025" initiative helped power the country's rise in industries such as electric vehicles.

International competitors are taking note of the BCI-friendly environment. In April, Axoft became the first US brain implant company to disclose that it had tested its device in China.

Chief Executive Officer Paul Le Floch said part of the motivation to study the implant in China was because of how quickly Axoft could test there.

The firm does have other connections to the country - two of its founders are from China and it has also received Chinese investment.

The amount of money flowing to the BCI industry in China is still well behind volumes in the US. Nonetheless, venture capital funding for China's BCI sector more than doubled in 2025 versus a year earlier, topping 1.8 billion yuan ($264 million), according to data platform ITjuzi.

What Technological Challenges Remain?

BCI technology is far from perfect and likely years away from being widely available. While some implants are wireless and ready for at-home use, others are physically connected to computers or restricted to a laboratory setting for testing, meaning they're not yet practical for patients in their everyday lives.

Some argue that devices implanted into or onto the brain enable more detailed readings of neural activity than non-invasive BCIs, but surgery is a risky procedure.

Pushing material into the surface of the brain could result in the formation of scar tissue, which may disrupt the connection between the device and the brain.

It's also not yet clear how long implanted BCIs can be left in place, whether they'll physically degrade, and when, or if, they'll have to be replaced or upgraded.

For BCIs that protrude from the head, there's a risk of infection at the boundary where the skin and device meet, which could require another surgery to remove the interface.

The Beinao-1, a semi-invasive brain-computer interface system, displayed at the Chinese Institute for Brain Research in Beijing.

Photo Credit: Bloomberg

Even if the technical challenges can be overcome, there's an issue of cost, not just of the devices but of any procedure to install them, too. In a presentation for investors, Neuralink conservatively estimated it could generate $50,000 in revenue from each surgery.

The bill for patients could be higher than that figure when including the other costs of a hospital stay, depending on what's covered by insurers and public health programmes.

Could Brain-Computer Interfaces Be Used Beyond Medicine?

Medical applications for BCIs are focused on restoring lost functionality. But some in the industry believe these devices could enable humans to go beyond their natural biological capabilities.

At the simpler end of the spectrum, the ambition is for BCIs to become mass market products that are integrated with everyday technologies such as headphones and glasses, changing the way we communicate, see the world and consume entertainment.

Neuralink President DJ Seo has said that his company hopes to put a device in an "otherwise healthy" person by 2030, and that brain implants could eventually allow people to question AI chatbots with their thoughts and receive the answers through their headphones.

Some investors and entrepreneurs have more fantastical visions of BCIs giving people telepathic powers, expanding the brain's memory capacity and rapidly accelerating learning.

But scientists are skeptical that you could have your very own "I know kung fu" moment like Neo in The Matrix, when knowledge of the martial arts is uploaded to his brain.

Even in a more mundane form, BCIs could be of use to the military, enabling soldiers to control drones and other unmanned weapons with their mind, for example.

The US Department of Defense's research and development agency, DARPA, has funded projects to advance BCIs, including some of the technology that went on to become Neuralink.

Is The World Ready For Brain-Computer Interfaces?

Governments often have to play catch-up to ensure new technology is integrated into society responsibly. The fact that BCIs are first being used for medical applications could provide a guardrail.

Medical devices face regulatory oversight to ensure patient safety and those that are surgically implanted typically face even more scrutiny.

But regulating the industry might become more challenging if the line between medical and consumer products becomes blurred.

BCIs raise significant privacy and ethical concerns, including questions about the ownership and use of the information these devices collect.

While the technology is still nascent, should it take off, people's thoughts could become data that's subject to surveillance, hacking or exploitation for political and corporate gain.

Some US states, including California and Colorado, have passed legislation to try to safeguard neural data.

Whether there'll be a big appetite for BCIs among the general public is unclear, especially if the devices need to be implanted to be effective.

The prospect of gaining superhuman vision or being able to communicate telepathically with another BCI user might be enticing enough, but most people probably wouldn't want to undergo brain surgery just to play video games or send emails with their mind.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)