Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Beijing, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) as its brain-computer interface company Neuralink is lagging behind in the competition, Elon Musk has approached Synchron, a developer of brain chips, to discuss the possibility of investing in it, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mr Musk has contacted Thomas Thomas Oxley, founder and CEO of Synchron, in recent weeks to discuss the potential investment deal, according to people familiar with the matter. It is not clear whether there will be a strategic cooperation (tie-up) or cooperation between Synchron and Neuralink.

Headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, Synchron leads Neuralink in obtaining regulatory approval for the device. People familiar with the matter added that the company had not yet decided whether to accept the investment and it was uncertain whether a deal would be struck. Representatives of Mr Musk and Neuralink were not available for comment. A spokesman for Synchron declined to comment.

Musk is unhappy with the slow progress of human trials. Before seeking to invest in Synchron, Musk expressed disappointment at the slow progress of Neuralink employees, according to people familiar with the matter. However, Musk did not convey this frustration to him when he contacted Oxley.

It is unclear how far Neuralink has made in applying to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate human trials. A FDA spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr Musk said in a public speech in 2019 that Neuralink planned to be approved by regulators to conduct human trials by the end of 2020. Then, at a conference held by the Wall Street Journal at the end of 2021, he said he hoped to start human trials this year.

Like Neuralink, Synchron was founded in 2016, and the company developed a brain implant. Unlike Neuralink's products, the implant does not need to be cut into the skull to install. Its goal is to help paralyzed patients operate digital devices only with their minds.

Last month, Synchron crossed an important milestone by implanting its device into American patients for the first time. The company obtained a human trial license from FDA in 2021 and has completed a study of four people in Australia.

Synchron has about 60 employees and has raised about $65 million from investors, according to market research firm Pitchbook.

Neuralink, by contrast, is bigger, with 300 employees in San Francisco and Austin, Texas. The company has so far raised $363 million from investors, according to Pitchbook.

Of the eight founders of Neuralink, only two remain at the company, one is Musk and the other is Dongjin "DJ" Seo, a leading implant engineer. Max Hodak, who stepped down as president of Neuralink last year, is now an investor in Synchron.

Musk has approached Neuralink's competitors in the past. In 2020, he held discussions with brain technology company Paradromics, but then abandoned the negotiations, according to three people familiar with the matter.

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