Elon Musk says Neuralink is preparing to significantly scale up production of its brain-computer interface chips, with plans to automate the human implantation process starting in 2026.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Musk said Neuralink “will start high-volume production of brain-computer interface devices” this year. The startup, which Musk co-founded in 2016, is developing implantable technology that allows people to control computers using signals from their brain.
The company’s near-term focus is on patients with severe neurological conditions, including paralysis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and vision impairment. The goal is to help patients communicate more easily and regain a greater level of independence. Musk has also said the technology could eventually be used to merge human cognition with artificial intelligence.
Musk added in a separate post on Thursday that the implantation process itself will be transformed next year. According to him, the procedure will become “a streamlined, almost entirely automated surgical procedure” in 2026.
As part of the update, Musk said the device’s ultra-thin threads will be inserted through the dura — the tough outer membrane protecting the brain and spinal cord — without requiring it to be removed. “This is a big deal,” he wrote.
The Neuralink implant is roughly the size of a coin and connects to the brain via an array of extremely thin threads, each about 20 times thinner than a human hair. Until now, implanting the device required a surgeon to remove a small section of the skull before a robotic system inserted the chip.
One of the earliest recipients, Noland Arbaugh — a quadriplegic who became Neuralink’s first human patient in January 2024 — previously told Business Insider that the implant helped him regain independence, improve control over daily tasks, and build new social connections.
In September 2025, Neuralink said in an X post that 12 people worldwide had received implants and were actively using the technology.
Musk has previously suggested the company could have more than 1,000 patients implanted by 2026. Supporting that goal, Neuralink launched an aggressive hiring push in November 2024, seeking manufacturing technicians and microfabrication specialists as it prepared to scale production.
