Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink is preparing to launch a new clinical trial in the U.S. this October that will focus on reading speech from thoughts. The company says the goal is to give people with speech impairments a faster, more natural way to communicate (via Bloomberg).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Neuralink an investigational device exemption for the trial, clearing the way for human testing. Neuralink President and COO DJ Seo detailed the project this week while speaking at the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies in Seoul, explaining that the technology could eventually allow people to communicate at the “speed of thought.”
While current brain implants are only offered to patients with severe conditions where surgery is justified, Neuralink also hopes to bring its devices to healthy users by the end of the decade. “We’re currently envisioning a world where in about 3 to 4 years, there will be someone who’s otherwise healthy who’s going to get a Neuralink,” Seo said.
This new speech trial builds on Neuralink’s broader ambitions. Last year, the company received an FDA “breakthrough” designation for its Blindsight device, designed to restore vision in the visually impaired, with human trials expected to begin in the coming months. Neuralink also shared a summer update earlier this year with live demos of users moving cursors, controlling robotic arms, and even playing first-person shooter games using only their thoughts. Translating those same signals into speech, in the form of text or audio, now appears to be a key goal.
Neuralink is already running five other clinical trials, including implants that let paralyzed patients control computers or robotic devices. Reading imagined speech directly from the brain could be significantly faster than typing with a virtual keyboard. Seo added that the technology could also enable people to interface with AI assistants directly, bypassing the need for a keyboard altogether.
“We think that it’s actually possible to demonstrate abilities to speak to the latest AI model, or LLM models, at the speed of thought, even faster than how you’re speaking, and being able to potentially get that information back through your AirPods, effectively closing the loop,” he said.
The company aims to eventually implant its devices in 20,000 people a year by 2031, with long-term plans to transition from medical applications into commercially available consumer technology. While it’s still early days, Neuralink’s upcoming thought-to-text trial could mark a critical step in that direction.
