A Chinese state-backed company revealed a brain chip bearing resemblance to technology pioneered by Elon Musk’s startup, Neuralink. Beijing Xinzhida Neurotechnology introduced a brain-computer interface implant named Neucyber, which has undergone testing on a primate.
This implant enabled the monkey to manipulate a robotic arm using only its thoughts. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that this technology was “independently developed” and represents China’s inaugural “high-performance invasive BCI.”
Xinzhida Neurotechnology’s primary shareholder is the Beijing municipal government’s state asset regulator, as per the corporate database Qichacha. While neither the scientists nor Xinhua explicitly referenced Musk’s venture, the debut of Neucyber at the annual tech-focused Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing underscores China’s ambition to narrow the gap with Neuralink.
This development follows the categorization of BCI technology as a significant “cutting-edge emerging technology” by China’s Ministry of industry and Information Technology at the previous year’s Zhongguancun Forum. While Neuralink has already conducted human trials with its brain chips, China has yet to initiate such trials.
