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Every brain–computer interface on earth

invasive  ·  single-unit ·  clinical-trial

N1 Implant

By Neuralink

Identity

Manufacturer
Neuralink
Model number
—
Codename
Telepathy
Aliases
Telepathy, Link
Generation
1st in-human
Country of origin
US
Released
Announced
Discontinued
—
Status
clinical-trial

Classification

Invasiveness
invasive
Modalities
single-unit, multi-unit, LFP
Primary modality
single-unit
Direction
read
Categories
medical-implant, communication-aac, prosthetic-control
Form factor
intracortical-implant, cranial-implant
Use cases
cursor control, click decoding, AAC for paralysis, device control for severe motor disability
Target users
patient-spinal-cord-injury, patient-als, patient-paralysis, patient-locked-in

Electrodes

Total channels
1024
Recording channels
1024
Reference channels
—
Electrode type
penetrating-shank
Material
polyimide, gold, iridium-oxide
10-20 positions
—
Requires gel
No
Requires saline
No
Prep time
—
Reusable
No
Disposable
No

Signal acquisition

Sampling rate
18600–19300 Hz
ADC resolution
10 bit
Notch filters
—
Onboard artifact rejection
Yes

Stimulation

Capable
No

Connectivity

Protocols
bluetooth-le, transcranial-inductive
Bluetooth
—
Bluetooth profiles
—
Concurrent mode
—
Encryption (transit)
—
Pairing methods
—
Cloud sync
—
Offline recording
—

Power

Sources
rechargeable-li-ion, transcutaneous-inductive
Battery life (active)
—
Charging port
—
Charging time
—
Battery replaceable
No
Notes
Inductive charging through the scalp from a wearable charger; daily use cycle.

Physical

Weight
—
Dimensions
8 mm H × ⌀ 23 mm
Materials
titanium, biocompatible-polymer
Sizes
—
Head circumference
—
Operating temp
—

Compute

Has onboard computer
Yes
Operating systems
—
Primary OS
—
Edge ML accelerator
Yes
Root access
none
App sandbox
No
3rd-party apps allowed
No
Notes
Hermetic implant containing Neuralink's custom 1024-channel acquisition ASIC with on-chip spike detection and feature extraction. Compute runs first-party firmware only — no general-purpose OS.

Software & data

Mobile app
—
Cloud platform
—
Offline mode
—
Subscription required
—
Raw data access
No
Export formats
—
LSL support
—
Data ownership
manufacturer
Apps
—

SDK & developer access

Has SDK
No
Open source
No
Languages
—
Web Bluetooth
—
Raw sample access
—
BCI paradigms
cursor-control, 2d-cursor, click-decoder
3rd-party integrations
—
Docs
—

Capabilities

Attention / focus
—
Meditation / calm
—
Neurofeedback
—
Meditation coaching
—
Sleep tracking
—

Security

Authentication factors
—
Per-user profiles
—
Requires account
—
Claiming methods
—
Ownership model
—
Activation lock
—
Remote lock
—
Remote wipe
—
Find my device
—
Notes
—

Firmware & updates

OTA supported
Yes
OTA transports
bluetooth-le
Update mechanism
—
Update channels
—
Rollback supported
—
Signed updates
—
Forced updates
—
User deferrable
—
Requires app companion
—
Average update frequency
—
Notes
Decoder model + firmware updates have been pushed OTA over BLE in the PRIME study (notably to mitigate thread-retraction signal loss in the first patient).

Regulatory & clinical

FDA status
investigational-device-exemption
CE mark
No
Certifications
—
Prescription required
Yes
Pediatric approved
No

Pricing & availability

MSRP
—
Current price
—
Subscription
—
Warranty
—
Return policy (days)
—
Where to buy
—

Media & links

Official site
neuralink.com
Product page
—

Editor’s take

In favor

  • Highest channel count of any clinical-stage human BCI
  • Fully wireless and inductively charged — no transcutaneous connector
  • Custom R1 robot enables more reproducible thread insertion than manual implant

Against

  • Investigational only — not available outside PRIME
  • First-patient thread retraction event raised durability questions
  • Most hardware specs remain proprietary / unverifiable

Sources & provenance

Last reviewed