Paradromics Joins the Race in Brain-Computer Interface Technology with Successful Human Implant

Competition with Musk's Neuralink ramps up as Paradromics completes human brain implant

A brain-computer interface (BCI), a fusion of man and machine, has sparked human imagination since the Industrial Revolution. This week, the small field of BCI developers -- which includes Elon Musk's Neuralink -- was joined by Texan company Paradromics, who successfully installed its Connexus BCI in a patient undergoing epilepsy resection surgery at the University of Michigan. The Connexus BCI, which is smaller than a dime, uses AI to translate brain signals at the neuron level into physical movement, including communication, for people with severe motor impairments due to ALS, strokes, or spinal cord injuries. After three years of preclinical trials in sheep, Paradromics said that this human trial "demonstrated Connexus can be safely implanted, record electrical brain signals, and be removed intact in less than 20 minutes, using surgical techniques familiar to neurosurgeons worldwide." It requires further approval at the clinical level before it can be commercialized. The Texan company is the primary U.S. competitor of Neuralink, which completed three BCI surgeries in 2024. "We are now a clinical-stage company," said Paradromics CEO Matt Angle, who co-founded the company ten years ago. He added that the company plans "several" similar surgeries in 2025. Meanwhile, Chinese state-owned NeuCyber NeuroTech plans to implant its brain chip in 13 people by the end of the year, they announced in April. Other BCI competitors include Synchron, backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, and Precision Neuroscience, founded by former Neuralink employees. Only Neuralink and Paradromics have BCIs that connect to brain tissue; Synchron's enters via a blood vessel, and Precision Neuroscience's sits on top of the brain. Proximity to individual neurons, as Paradromics' Connexus has, is considered key for high-quality, high-resolution signals that aid in speech in particular.

This Neuralink Rival Just Implanted Its Device in a Human Patient

The procedure also marks Paradromics' next phase as a clinical-stage company, although there is likely still a ways to go before the device is available for commercial use, as it has not yet been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration. Although brain-computer interface devices have long been studied, Austin-based Paradromics is hardly the only company pursuing commercial applications of the technology. Elon Musk's Neuralink is developing chips meant to restore autonomy to those with mobility limitations related to brain or spinal injuries; their broader goal, as Musk has previously stated, is achieving "human/AI symbiosis." In January 2024, Neuralink successfully implanted its device into the brain of a quadriplegic patient. Although functionality of the device degraded over time as its tendrils slipped out of the brain tissue, the patient has become an enthusiastic proponent of Neuralink, The New York Times reported. The company also secured FDA approval to test the device in more human subjects. Neuralink reported that a second patient with the implant had remarkable success using the device without the electrode slipping that occurred in the first. Another competitor in the space is Synchron, which developed a stent-like brain implant with electrodes that interpret electrical signals. Because Synchron's device is implanted in a vein, rather than directly into brain tissue, it is considered less invasive than devices like Neuralink's. Synchron began implanting its device in humans in 2019, and in mid-May partnered up with Apple to work towards enabling people to control their phones with the implant, The Wall Street Journal reported.