Elon Musk's Neuralink is reportedly in talks with medical centers to test its brain implants on humans, Gizmodo reported.
The company has approached Phoenix-based Barrow Neurological Institute and other centers, according to the March 27 story, citing reporting from Reuters. The Arizona facility and Neuralink didn't respond to the news outlet's requests for comment.
Mr. Musk said in late November the company was six months away from testing the device on people in the hopes it will one day be used to cure everything from blindness to paralysis. However, the FDA reportedly denied a 2022 request from Neuralink to start human-centered clinical trials, and the company is reportedly facing a federal investigation over its handling of pathogens.
Synchron, a competitor backed by fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, has already started implanting its brain-computer interface in humans. A physician at New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System put the first chip in the brain of a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in July. Pittsburgh-based UPMC and Buffalo (N.Y.) General Medical Center have since joined the trial.