Elon Musk's Neuralink closes Series E funding round
SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk's (picture) brain computer interface startup Neuralink announced on Monday that it has closed a US$650 million funding round, Xinhua reported.
The Series E fundraiser included investors such as ARK Invest, Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital, and Thrive Capital, among others, the company said in a blog post.
Neuralink last raised a US$280 million Series D funding round in 2023, with an additional US$43 million tranche added months later.
The company said it has now conducted more human clinical trials, implanting its brain chips in five individuals with severe paralysis.
In May, Neuralink received a Breakthrough Devices Programme designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Breakthrough Devices Programme is a voluntary programme for certain medical devices and device-led combination products that provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating diseases or conditions, according to the FDA.
The programme is intended to provide patients and healthcare providers with timely access to medical devices by speeding up development, assessment, and review for premarket approval. — BERNAMA-XINHUA
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