Chinese Brain Chip Project Scores First Success With Humans

A tie-up between a Chinese research institute and a tech company said on March 31 that it aims to implant its brain chip into 13 people by the end of 2025, in a move that could see it overtake Mr. Elon Musk's Neuralink in collecting patient data.

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BEIJING —

The Beijing-based Chinese Institute for Brain Research (CIBR) and NeuCyber NeuroTech have implanted Beinao No. 1, a semi-invasive wireless brain chip, into three patients in the past month and have 10 more lined up for 2025, said Dr. Luo Minmin, director of CIBR and NeuCyber's chief scientist.

State-owned NeuCyber has ambitions for an even larger trial.

“After getting regulatory approval next year, we will do formal clinical trials that will include around 50 patients,” Dr. Luo told reporters on the sidelines of the tech-focused Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing.

He did not elaborate on funding or the length of the trials.

The acceleration of human trials by CIBR and NeuCyber could make Beinao No. 1 the brain chip with the highest number of patients in the world, underlining China's determination to catch up with leading foreign brain-computer interface (BCI) developers.