Neuralink Faces Setback After $650M Funding Round

Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company, has raised $650 million in Series E funding, bringing its total funding to $1.3 billion and valuing the firm at about $9 billion. Backed by investors including ARK Invest, Founders Fund, and Sequoia Capital, Neuralink aims to accelerate development and expand patient access to its technology, which enables individuals with severe paralysis and neurological disorders to control digital and physical devices using brain signals. The company is conducting multiple clinical trials in the U.S., Canada, and Abu Dhabi, such as the CONVOY, PRIME, and CAN-PRIME studies, following regulatory approvals, including from Health Canada. Neuralink has faced significant challenges, including a major failure in its first human implant, where 85% of the device's brain-connected wires disconnected, though the company claims to have partially improved the device via software updates. The FDA has granted Neuralink breakthrough device designation to expedite development and review. Despite technical setbacks, the funding signals sustained investor interest in advancing neuroscience technologies.