Beijing Xinzhida Neurotechnology, a Chinese state-backed company, has revealed a brain chip akin to the technology pioneered by Elon Musk's Neuralink startup.
The company introduced a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant named Neucyber, which has undergone testing on a monkey. According to the state-run Xinhua news agency, the implant enabled the monkey to control a robotic arm using only its thoughts. Xinhua emphasized that the technology was "independently developed" and hailed it as China's first "high-performance invasive BCI."
The controlling stakeholder of Xinzhida Neurotechnology is the state asset regulator of the Beijing municipal government, as per the corporate database Qichacha.
Although neither the scientists nor Xinhua explicitly referenced Musk's brain-chip venture, the unveiling of Neucyber at the annual Zhongguancun Forum in Beijing underscores China's ambition to keep pace with Neuralink.
This development follows the classification of BCI technology as a crucial "cutting-edge emerging technology" by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology at last year's Zhongguancun Forum.
While Neuralink has already conducted human trials and implanted brain chips in individuals, China is yet to commence similar trials.
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