The US startup Synchron, a direct competitor to Musk's Neuralink, recently received a $75 million investment. The startup also wants to give people implants and transmit signals directly from the brain so that they can control computers with their thoughts. The first target audience is the paraplegic, but if the technology works well it is clear that in time healthy people will also "chip" themselves.
Synchron and Neuralink diverge in their technological approach. Synchron implants are smaller - i.e. both weaker and safer, the pros and cons of both options are obvious, only time will tell which will win. But curiously, in the latest round the startup was backed by Gates and Bezos - and essentially with personal money, rather than through Amazon, for example. We suppose this suggests that the desire to help the world outweighs the arithmetic of future profitability. Both, of course, are present in any deal, but billionaire philanthropists have obviously different priorities on this scale from those of soulless foundations or corporations. Although, the amount is insignificant to them, and no one will scold them for failing to meet KPIs.
