Reuters: Musk wants to buy a competitor for brain implants

Billionaire Elon Musk approached a competitor from his startup Neuralink to buy it. This Reuters news agency reports on an insider basis. Like Neuralink, Synchron is involved in brain implants that people can use to control computers. However, this company would be closer to FDA approval to allow its products to actually be implanted into patients.

It’s not clear if the Synchron founder is interested in Musk’s affinity. It is also not clear whether he is the richest man in the world after an acquisition or a collaboration.

Musk, who is also the CEO of electric car maker Tesla and space company SpaceX, is said to have recently expressed dissatisfaction with Neuralink employees over slow progress. He founded Neuralink in 2016 and said three years later he wanted FDA approval by 2020. Last year, Musk said he hoped to do a human test this year.

Synchron was also founded in 2016. The company’s brain implant can be fitted to a patient without cutting the skull. This is necessary to resolve Neuralink. Synchron also installed its first implant on a patient in the United States. The company has already tested its implant on four people in Australia.

This isn’t the first time Musk has approached a competitor to Neuralink. A couple of years ago, he had had conversations with the Pandronics, but he also cut them off again.