Neurotechnologies are attracting the greatest fortunes in the world, such as Elon Musk, co-founder of Neuralink. Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, other billionaires, responded by investing in a competing company, Synchron.
The competition to dominate neurotechnologies seems to be in full swing. While Elon Musk very recently enjoyed the successful testing of his Neuralink implant by a paralyzed human, other men with super-rich wealth have invested millions in Synchron, a young company which aims, like Neuralink, to transplant an implant into the human brain, but using a less invasive process. Among its investors, we find Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
Neuralink contributed to the emergence of the brain-computer interface era
Synchron, a young New York company founded and led by doctor of psychology and neuroscience Tom Oxley in 2016, managed to raise $140 million, making it a technological rival of Neuralink and Elon Musk. She even saw DARPA, an American federal agency specializing in military research, grant her funding.
As a reminder, Neuralink is based on technology called “Brain-Computer Interface” or BCI (Brain-Computer Interface), to develop the Telepathy device, designed to “ connect human brains directly to computers “. The chips aim to give disabled individuals lost freedom of movement, thanks to thought.
If Elon Musk is to be believed, Neuralink will even go well beyond this single mission in the future. The owner of Tesla and SpaceX is convinced that his chip will allow certain individuals to communicate telepathically, the blind to regain their sight, and even to merge the human mind with artificial intelligence. Synchron, for its part, takes a different approach. Synchron’s Stentrode microchip is thus pushed through a blood vessel to a patient’s brain via a catheter where it can begin picking up brain waves.
Elon Musk’s company is not the only one innovating in the neurotechnology sector
Doctor Tom Oxley’s company wants to show that Neuralink is not the only one to shine in the field of neuretechnology. While Elon Musk’s device requires the patient to undergo a complex surgical procedure to implant the chip, which must also be carried out in a special clinic, Synchron eliminates this procedure.
The start-up wants to use stents to implant its brain chips. The method, much less invasive, is until now mainly reserved for cardiology and vascular surgery. The stent can be compared to a small metal spring only a few millimeters in diameter. Some are even made from polylactic acid, a biodegradable polymer.
Obviously, Synchron is attractive, so much so that it convinced the emblematic co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, as well as the creator of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, to invest in the company. Synchron’s proven technology is not without its challenges, however. The use of stents can in fact cause more “noise” in the reading of brain signals, which can limit their accuracy. Whether through Neuralink or Synchron, these advances will perhaps one day transform the way we interact with technology and open up new perspectives for people with disabilities.
Source : The Telegraph
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