Why Elon Musk, Sam Altman and Other Billionaires Are Betting On Brain-Computer Interfaces

Elon Musk already has rockets, cars, AI, and humanoid robots. Mask rival Sam Altman runs Openai, the company behind the leading AI chatbot ChatGpt. Today, both men and other billionaires want a part of the human brain.

Their latest bets on brain computer interfaces, or BCIS, have made little clarification about today’s medical breakthrough. As the space founders and experts said Decryptionbillionaires’ attention is “enhancing the entire industry”, even if it distorts priorities.

For billionaires, brain computer interfaces are not merely medical devices, but represent the next potential platform shift. This is a way to control the gateway between human thinking and digital systems.

Owning that interface can mean owning the future of computing. That’s why some of the world’s most powerful people are pouring their money into BCI. They see them as hedges against artificial intelligence, a new control point for high-tech stacks, and perhaps the ultimate frontier of profit and influence.

Mask and Altman move

Mask founded Neuralink in 2016 with the goal of merging with machines. He argued that this was the only way to deal with artificial intelligence. The company recently raised a $650 million Series E, placing it on the most funded player on the field. Neuralink’s first patient, Noland Arbaugh, shows that he can control his cursor and browse the internet with just his thoughts.

Although the results are mixed, five patients have been implanted so far, and the trial has expanded to include speech impairment and vision recovery. Musk continues to framise BCI not only as medical devices, but as a safeguard for future humanity dominated by AI.

Meanwhile, Altman has emerged as a co-founder of Merge Labs. This is a new venture aimed at raising approximately $250 million in valuations that could reach $850 million. Early reports suggest that Merge may pursue a non-invasive interface, a pathway different to Neuralink’s brain implants.

For Altman, who has already ordered one of the most powerful AI companies, the move shows that the next fight is not just about who will build the smartest models, but also about controlling the pipelines that connect them to humans.

Other major bets

The circle extends beyond Musk and Altman. Prominent biohacker Brian Johnson made a fortune through payments, but in 2016 he poured $100 million into the kernel. The Kernel has developed a neurotechnology platform for measuring brain activity, positioning it as an infrastructure play rather than a flashy implant company.

Neuralink investors include Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. It also includes evidence that Silicon Valley venture elites are prepared for the possibility that brain computer links will become the next foundational layer.

“For me, their involvement is a good sign,” said Tetiana Aleksandrova, CEO and co-founder of neuroengineering startup Subsense. Decryption. “When billionaires step into BCI, they bring visibility and capital to boost the industry as a whole. Suddenly, more funds are planning to allocate resources to neural technology.

However, Aleksandrova warned that billionaires’ involvement would be reduced in both ways.

“Their funding can accelerate progress at a pace that public funds are rarely allowed,” she explained. “At the same time, the pressure to deliver at the speed of a startup can lead to unrealistic promises that put trust at risk. And in science, trust is just as important as capital.”

Andreas Melhede, co-founder of Neuroscience Dao Elata Bioscience, said Decryption While billionaires engagement accelerates profits and funding, it also narrows the agenda.

“Priorities tend to reflect the vision of a single individual or Gatekate corporate agenda rather than the broader scientific community,” he said. “In other words, research is often skewed into a ‘Moonshot’ project designed to attract attention, rather than a significant collaborative advance that actually advances the field. ”

Merhede agreed that billionaires rhetoric can do good and harm the industry. He said the greater risk is the centralisation of power over things that are as important as the human brain.

“If one company owns infrastructure, code and data, it owns the key to individuals’ thoughts and intentions,” he said. “This hinders transparency [and] Delays independent verification and scientific advances. Access to BCI technology and cognitive autonomy are the subject of business decisions of a few well-known figures. That’s too much risk with too few hands. ”

Speculation vs. reality

That tension defines the field. The billionaire pitch is being wiped out – controlling the neural interface and controlling the future. However, the current reality is narrowing. A system that cannot “read the thoughts” in the way coarse signals, fragile hardware, and general rhetoric suggests.

Still, such a breakthrough could occur “probably someday.” honor New York University’s Psychology and Neuroscience Decryption. “At this point, we don’t fully understand the nerve code. Of course, there are already interventions that make sense for people who are paralyzed or have few other options.”

Companies such as Synchron and Inbrain continue their pilot trials after Inbrain’s graphene-based BCI platform receives FDA breakthrough device designations. However, these remain early stage efforts, far from strengthening the mass market.

Stakes

The question is whether brain computer interfaces work on a large scale, and whether their vision defines them is very little. Musk frames the BCI as an existential protection. Altman places them as strategic control points. Johnson and Tiel treat them as infrastructure bets.

For patients, this technique is about restoring lost capabilities. For billionaires, it is shaping the next human-machine platform. Those who own the gateway can set rules about how their thoughts themselves will one day become data.