Elon Musk’s controversial brain implant startup pulled in another $43 million, bringing the amount raised so far to $323 million, according to the latest Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
The company, Neuralink, has been working on an electrode-heavy chip that would be surgically sewn into the surface of a human brain by a super robot. The device would be capable of decoding brain activity and allow people to control computer interfaces with their brains. The plan is one of Musk’s most ambitious bets to date in his multibillion-dollar business portfolio, which includes everything from social media to space travel.
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The latest round of investments was led by billionaire investor and one-time Republican Senate candidate Peter Thiel, TechCrunch reported.
Thiel and Musk have a complicated history that dates back to 2002 when they combined their online banking companies, PayPal and X.
Neuralink was given regulatory approval to conduct the first clinical trial of its experimental device in humans earlier this year. It had been conducting its research on animals and caused a stir when it implanted a chip in a monkey and taught him how to play the computer game Pong with his mind.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine called for an investigation into the company’s research arm for “serious safety concerns.” It alleged that the animals being tested were forced to undergo psychological distress and other medical problems, including infections, due to the surgeries.
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Musk allegedly demanded fast results, which led to complications with the installation of electrodes, leading to brain swelling and, in some cases, partial paralysis in the animals.
The company was also under investigation by the Department of Agriculture for animal welfare violations but was cleared.
Last week, four lawmakers asked the SEC to investigate Neuralink for leaving out details about the deaths of dozens of animals under their care who were surgically fitted with its implants.
There were other problems beyond the monkeys and pigs at Neuralink.
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An exposé in a 2022 Fortune article described the work environment as a “culture of blame and fear” in which Musk would undermine his managers and tell employees to go directly to him with their concerns. It got so toxic that in the first eight months of 2020, five of the eight founding scientists quit, citing “internal conflict in which rushed timelines … clashed with the slow and incremental pace of science.”
Despite the concerns, the company, founded in 2016, has shown resilience. It has operations in California and a campus in Austin, Texas, and it boasts more than 400 employees.
