Billionaire Elon Musk’s brain-implant company Neuralink plans to start a trial in October to help people with speech impairments convert their thoughts into text, the company’s president said.
Dongjin “D.J.” Seo told an audience at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Seoul that the study aims to help those who have lost the ability to speak, enabling them "to go directly from brain to voice without any keyboards in between."
"If you're imagining saying something, we would be able to pick that up," Seo added.
Neuralink said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted the device a Breakthrough Device designation for speech, a status that can expedite development, assessment, and review.
The company began human trials in 2024 after addressing safety concerns raised by the FDA, which had rejected an earlier application in 2022. Last month, Neuralink reported that 12 people worldwide have received its chip, logging more than 15,000 hours of use.
The implant is designed to assist people with conditions such as spinal cord injuries. The first patient has used it to play video games, browse the internet, post on social media, and control a cursor on a laptop.
Rival Synchron Inc. is also testing an implant aimed at helping people with motor impairments type on a computer.