en.Wedoany.com Reported - Tesla and Neuralink CEO Elon Musk announced on May 18, during a video link appearance at the Tel Aviv Smart Mobility Summit, that his brain-computer interface company Neuralink will perform its first human surgery later this year for a "Blindsight" implant device designed to treat blindness. This will be the third core direction Neuralink has opened in the clinical application of brain-computer interface technology, following motor function restoration and speech decoding.
At the summit, Musk described the application prospects of this brain-computer interface device: "The initial device will only allow users to gain limited vision, but long-term use is expected to achieve high-definition, precise vision, even superhuman vision far exceeding normal capabilities." Neuralink's "Blindsight" device received Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2024. The company's official announcement confirmed, "We have received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for Blindsight, for people with vision impairment. Join us in helping those who have lost their sight regain it." Breakthrough Device Designation means the FDA will provide priority review during the device development and clinical trial review process, but it is not marketing approval; the company still needs to obtain regulatory clearance before initiating the first implant.
Neuralink's official website further disclosed the technical logic of this brain-computer interface solution: the device captures images of the surrounding environment through a camera, bypasses the natural pathways of the eyes and optic nerves, wirelessly transmits visual information to the brain's visual cortex, and directly stimulates the brain regions responsible for visual function to generate visual perception. The core of the entire system is a closed-loop link from image capture to neural stimulation—after a camera built into the user's glasses captures images, the image data is processed and converted into electrical signals, which directly stimulate neurons through a microelectrode array implanted in the visual cortex, thereby "tricking" the brain into producing visual perception. Musk has publicly warned that the initial visual quality post-implant will be in a low-resolution state, close to "Atari game graphics" level, but with continuous iteration of electrode density and algorithms, the long-term goal is to evolve from black-and-white contour perception to full-color high resolution, and even expand into superhuman visual bands such as infrared and ultraviolet.
In animal experiments, Neuralink has successfully induced eye movements by stimulating the visual cortex of monkeys, with two-thirds of the trials recording repeatable visual responses. On March 21 this year, Musk confirmed in a post on social platform X, "Blindsight implant technology is already working in monkeys." These data provide key feasibility validation for extending brain-computer interfaces from motor control to sensory reconstruction.
Looking at Neuralink's overall clinical pipeline, the brain-computer interface company is moving from single-point breakthroughs to a multimodal platform. As of early 2026, the company has completed brain-computer interface implants for a cumulative total of 21 participants. The first subject, quadriplegic patient Noland Arbaugh, who received an implant in January 2024, has achieved functions such as controlling a computer cursor with his mind, browsing the web, and playing games. In June 2025, Neuralink completed a $650 million Series E funding round, with a valuation of approximately $9 billion. The clinical pipeline has expanded to four directions: motor function restoration, speech decoding, vision restoration, and hearing restoration. Among these, the speech implant device received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in 2025, and the hearing restoration plan was publicly mentioned by Musk in April this year, with the goal of achieving hearing reconstruction by directly stimulating the auditory cortex, bypassing the ears.
At the same summit, Musk also revealed that SpaceX "hopes to achieve a breakthrough this year" in reusable rocket launch system technology, which will significantly reduce the cost of space travel.
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