Elon Musk is thinking about investing in the competitor brain chip maker to Neuralink.

According to reports, Elon Musk is thinking about investing in the competitor brain chip maker to Neuralink.

Since 2016, Neuralink, a business that Elon Musk helped co-found, has been developing an implantable brain-machine interface. It has not yet begun human testing, despite previously showcasing its development by demonstrating a Macaque monkey directing the cursor in a Pong game. Now, Reuters claims that Musk has just contacted rival firm Synchron to talk about a potential investment.

Since none of the participants answered or corroborated the allegation with the news agency, it is unknown what kind of contract Musk has offered, whether it is a financial investment or a collaboration. A deal isn't guaranteed, according to Reuters' sources, and Synchron hasn't decided whether to accept Musk's offer. The executive reportedly went to the CEO of Synchron after complaining to Neuralink personnel about the company's sluggish development.

Back in 2019, Neuralink declared that it would apply for permission to conduct human trials in 2020. The business began looking for a clinical trial director in January of this year to oversee the testing of its medical device on humans. But that hasn't happened yet, and the FDA hasn't said how far along Neuralink is in getting its approval.

In the meantime, Synchron declared in July that it had successfully placed its brain-computer interface for the first time in a human patient in the motor cortex of the US. Doctors at Mount Sinai West in New York conducted this as part of the company's COMMAND trial, which aims to evaluate the implant's safety in patients with severe paralysis. The business also finished a study in Australia, where it was found that four patients with its implant were still safe a year later.

Synchron hopes to give people with restricted mobility the capacity to manage electronic gadgets like cellphones and laptops with their brains, much like Neuralink did. They will then be free to email, text, and perform other digital duties on their own. Max Hodak, a co-founder of Neuralink who left the company in 2021, disclosed earlier this year that he joined Synchron as an advisor. Given his enthusiasm for the work the company was doing, he also made a financial investment in it.

But it's important to remember that Musk allegedly had previous conversations with other Neuralink competitors. According to Reuters, he also reportedly approached Paradromics, a company that develops brain-machine interfaces, in 2020, but those negotiations were finally cancelled.