Elon Musk's Neuralink announced Thursday that it had raised $205 Million in a Series C round of funding.Neuralink stated that the funds will be used to bring its first brain-chip product on the market.Neuralink stated that the chip will allow quadriplegics to control digital devices using their minds.Ten Things in Tech: Keep up-to-date with the latest tech trends and innovations. Loading Click Sign up to receive marketing emails and other offers from Insider.Elon Musk's Neuralink has raised $205 Million in funding. The company that develops microchips to be implanted in the brains of people, it announced in a blog posting Thursday.Neuralink stated that the funding would be used for a specific application of its chip, which will help quadriplegics control digital devices using their minds.Vy Capital was the lead investor in the round. Google's GV, formerly Google Ventures, also participated, Neuralink stated.Neuralink stated that seven venture capital firms participated along with five Silicon Valley executives who contributed their personal wealth. Sam Altman, cofounder of Y Combinator, and CEO of OpenAI was among those participating, according to Neuralink.Neuralink is working on a neural interface device called the N1 Link. This microchip sits in the skull of a person and has wires that reach into the cortex. The chip could send and monitor signals to the brain, according to theory.There are many theoretical uses for the chip, such as treating neurological conditions or enabling amputees control robotic limbs.Neuralink stated in a blog post that funding would allow it to bring its chip on the market.The company stated that the device was intended to assist quadriplegics in regaining their digital freedom. It allows users to communicate with their phones or computers in a naturalistic and high-bandwidth way.It added that the funds raised from the round would be used to bring Neuralink's initial product to market as well as to accelerate research and development for future products.Read on: Rivian uses Elon Musk's favourite job-interview technique to identify the best candidatesIt is not clear when Neuralink will start human testing. Musk stated in February that the company could make the transition from human trials to primate trials by the end this year. Musk predicted that the company would begin testing on humans in 2020 and 2019 respectively.Neuralink is not the only company working to bring neural-interface technology to market. Synchron, a biotech company with only 20 employees, announced earlier this week that it had received FDA approval for human trials.Musk has said that Neuralink is much more than just a medical technology company. He also stated in the past that Neuralink aims to merge human consciousness and AI. Musk stated in a podcast interview that Neuralink was "intended to address any existential risk associated digital superintelligence."Musk stated, "We won't be able to become smarter than a supercomputer digital."Insider, 2019, 2019: Neuroscientists stated that Neuralink's near term medical applications could prove useful but claimed that blending human consciousness and AI was a "fantasy".Insider was told by Andrew Hires, an assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of California.
