Elon Musk’s Neuralink targets first Blindsight implant in a human by end of 2025

Elon Musk’s brain chip company, Neuralink, is aiming to achieve a major medical milestone by the end of 2025 with the first human implantation of its artificial visual prosthesis, Blindsight. The ambitious project aims to restore vision to people who are completely blind, including those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve or were born blind.

Speaking at a Town Hall event in Wisconsin on Sunday, Musk revealed that Neuralink hopes to perform the first human implant later this year. “We’re hoping, later this year, to have a first device implant for humans, enabling someone who is completely blind to see,” he said. Musk also acknowledged that the initial version of the implant would offer low-resolution vision, comparing it to "Atari Graphics," but expressed confidence that future iterations could enable "superhuman" vision.

The Blindsight device consists of a microelectrode array that is embedded in the visual cortex of the brain, which processes visual data. It works by stimulating neurons based on patterns relayed from an external camera, allowing users to perceive visual information. Musk claimed that the chip has been showing promising results in tests on monkeys.

Blindsight received ‘breakthrough’ status from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September last year, a status granted to medical devices that aim to treat or diagnose life-threatening conditions. However, experts caution that this designation does not imply a cure for blindness, but rather serves to expedite the device’s development and regulatory review.

Despite these reservations, Neuralink remains committed to advancing brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The company’s broader goal is to create a generalised brain interface that restores autonomy to individuals facing severe medical challenges. Previous Neuralink implants have been used by people with paralysis to control external devices through thought, a feature the company refers to as "Telepathy."

With Blindsight, Neuralink hopes to make a transformative impact on the lives of blind individuals, despite the technical challenges and ethical considerations. If successful, this project could mark a revolutionary step forward in the field of neural prosthetics and human augmentation.