In a high-stakes global race that many assumed tech billionaire Elon Musk would easily win, Beijing has quietly claimed the crown. China’s National Medical Products Administration has officially greenlit NEO, the world’s first invasive brain-computer interface approved for commercial sale. The milestone marks a major turning point. While Musk’s high-profile startup, Neuralink, continues to navigate regulatory testing, China’s state-backed health system is already gearing up for mass production.
Why China’s NEO reached the market first
For years, Neuralink has dominated headlines by promising a future where humans can control digital devices with a single thought. However, despite beginning human trials, Musk’s signature N1 prototype has yet to clear the regulatory hurdles required for public sales. The company began human trials in 2024 and is currently testing its N1 implant in nine patients while awaiting broader regulatory approval.
According to neurotechnology experts, the secret to China’s regulatory victory lies in a clever, safer engineering tradeoff.
Neuralink’s N1: Requires a robotic surgeon to thread microscopic electrodes directly into the cerebral cortex — literally piercing the outer layer of the brain to read single neurons.
China’s NEO: Developed by Shanghai-based startup Neuracle Technology and researchers at Tsinghua University, the coin-sized NEO device uses a much less invasive approach. Its eight sensors sit entirely outside the brain tissue, resting comfortably on the dura mater, the brain’s tough, protective outer membrane.
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