Rob Grenier became paralyzed after a car accident in 2022. He very recently received a Neuralink brain implant in June 2025 and shared this captivating experience on X, calling it “absolutely amazing”. He was able to move a cursor and play video games using only mental commands.
The technology fundamentally is a small implantable chip that’s designed to form a direct communication path between the brain and external devices like computers. 3,072 electrodes are distributed across ultra-thin wires (about 4 to 6 microns wide) made up of biocompatible polyimide with gold or platinum conductors. These electrodes detect electrical activity from neurons.
Neuralink uses a custom robot to insert wires into the brain tissue due to the precision it requires. It uses a 25 μm tungsten-rhenium needle, with real-time imaging guidance, and insertion rates of up to 192 electrodes per minute. The robot is designed to lessen brain damage, as using rigid electrodes manually can easily damage tissues. The signal processing chip that’s placed inside the skull contains 256 signal amplifiers, on-chip analog-to-digital converters, and circuitry to transmit brain signals to an external device.
Simply speaking, the threads connected to the brain send data based on firing neurons to a chip inside the skull, and the chip processes this data to perform meaningful tasks externally. Neuralink is conducting trials at major institutions like the University of Miami and the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. There are also plans to begin human testing of a new Blindsight chip in 2026, aiming to help blind people regain vision by interfacing it directly to the visual cortex. While the company has faced scrutiny over animal testing practices in its early stages, the implant system has received FDA “Breakthrough Device” designation, allowing a speedy human trial phase.
