Billionaire Elon Musk has shared a major Neuralink update at the Qatar Economic Forum with the Neurotechnology company's Brain-Chip Interface Blindsight set for its maiden trial next year.
What Happened: Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, the billionaire shared that Neuralink's Blindsight implant, which Musk says can help completely blind people see, will undergo its first clinical trial in 2026, he said on Tuesday.
"We've got Neuralink, which has now helped five patients restore capability using the telepathy implants," Musk said and outlined how the patients can control computers with their thoughts through the BCI chip.
Musk then talked about Neuralink's Blindsight implants and that the company will be deploying its implant on the first patient to "restore sight with our Blindsight implant, which is at the end of this year or early next year," Musk said. The company will partner with the UAE's Cleveland Clinic for the trial, according to Musk.
Why It Matters: The news comes in as Musk had previously touted Neuralink's capabilities through a post on X. "With Neuralink interfacing directly to the visual cortex, even those who are completely blind will be able to see again," Musk said in the post.
A man battling ALS also became Neuralink's first non-verbal recipient of a brain implant, as well as becoming the third recipient of the company's Brain-Chip Interface last month.
Neuralink was eyeing an $8.5 billion pre-money valuation for its latest funding round, as the company aimed to raise over $500 million. Before this, Neuralink was valued at $3.5 billion following its funding round.
Elsewhere, Neuralink's competitor in the BCI sector, Precision Neuroscience, had successfully raised $104 million in the company's funding round late last year.
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