Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a company focused on developing implantable chips capable of interpreting brain signals, has quietly secured an additional $43 million in venture capital, as per a recent filing with the SEC.
The filing, revealed this week, indicates an augmentation of the previous funding round, initially led by Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, from $280 million to $323 million in early August. A total of 32 investors participated in this extended funding round, according to the filing.
Although Neuralink’s current valuation has not been disclosed, a Reuters report in June suggested a valuation of approximately $5 billion based on privately executed stock trades.
Established in 2016, Neuralink has developed a device resembling a sewing machine designed to implant ultra-thin threads within the brain. These threads connect to a custom chip equipped with electrodes capable of reading information from groups of neurons.
While brain-signal-reading implants have existed for decades, Neuralink’s notable innovation lies in creating wireless implants and increasing the number of electrodes implanted.
In May, Neuralink gained FDA approval for human clinical trials following a prior rejection and initiated its first human trials for recruitment under an investigational device exemption granted by the FDA.
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However, according to critics, Neuralink has come under increased scrutiny due to allegations of a toxic workplace culture and unethical research practices.
In a Fortune article from January 2022, unidentified former employees outlined a concerning “culture of blame and fear” at Neuralink, where Elon Musk would frequently undermine management by encouraging junior employees to email him directly with issues and complaints. By August 2020, only three of the original eight founding scientists remained, a situation attributed to internal conflicts arising from rushed timelines conflicting with the slower pace of scientific progress, as described in a Stat News piece.
In 2022, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) accused Neuralink and its former research partner, UC Davis, of mistreating monkeys involved in testing Neuralink hardware. Allegedly, the animals experienced psychological distress and chronic infections due to surgeries. Reports from Reuters and Wired suggested that testing was expedited to meet Musk’s demands for swift results, resulting in complications such as electrode installation issues leading to partial paralysis and brain swelling.
For nearly a year, Neuralink was under federal investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) concerning potential animal welfare violations. Although the USDA ultimately found “no evidence” of animal welfare breaches during the startup’s trials, except for a previously self-reported incident from 2019, the PCRM contested the investigation results.
In November 2023, U.S. lawmakers requested the SEC investigate Neuralink for allegedly omitting details about the deaths of at least a dozen animals surgically fitted with its implants.
