Neuralink sees US$1 billion of revenue by 2031 in vast expansion
Several other brain implant companies are building and testing devices to stimulate or read data from the brain
[BOSTON] Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink expects to put its chips in 20,000 people a year by 2031, generating at least US$1 billion in annual revenue, in a major ramp-up of its work to treat disease and gain unprecedented access to the human mind, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.
Within six years, the company also plans to have about five large clinics in operation, with at least three versions of its device available, according to a recent presentation shown to investors. One version, Telepathy, is for enabling communication between the brain and machines; another, Blindsight, is aimed at giving vision to blind people; and a third, Deep, would treat tremors and Parkinson’s disease.
The financial projections, as well as the company’s work in patients with tremors and Parkinson’s, have not been previously publicly reported. Representatives for Musk and Neuralink did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company’s stated goals show the enormous scale of Musk’s vision for Neuralink and the ambitious timeline on which he seeks to operate. Fewer than 10 people are publicly known to have Neuralink brain devices so far as part of clinical trials, and no patients have them to restore vision or treat Parkinson’s.
By 2029, the company expects to gain regulatory approval in the US for its Telepathy device, and it hopes to perform 2,000 surgeries a year and generate at least US$100 million in annual revenue, according to the documents. Then by 2030, Neuralink sees the launch of its sight-restoring chip Blindsight, expanding to 10,000 surgeries a year and bringing in over US$500 million.
The figures assume “a conservative reimbursement of US$50k per surgery”, the documents show.
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Neuralink has raised US$1.3 billion from investors and is now valued at US$9 billion, according to PitchBook.
Brain-computer interface companies such as Neuralink have attracted significant attention and investment in recent years for potential medical applications. No devices are approved by US regulators for permanent use in humans, as companies are still working on gathering data on safety and effectiveness.
Musk has hit a number of milestones with Neuralink, though he is also known for overstating how quickly he will be able to reach technological achievements. For example, in 2015, Musk said that Tesla cars would be able to drive themselves within three years. He moved the timeline back several times and finally launched Robotaxis for testing last month.
As part of clinical trials, paralysed patients have used Neuralink devices to control computers, allowing them to browse the internet, play games, and edit videos. The company has also been testing its vision implant in monkeys.
Several other brain implant companies are building and testing devices to stimulate or read data from the brain. No brain-computer interfaces are approved commercially for permanent implantation by the US Food and Drug Administration. BLOOMBERG
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