Elon Musk Takes Action Again, Brain-Computer Interface Set to Enter Mass Production Era in 2026! Global Competition for Trillion-Dollar Market

Recently, American entrepreneur Elon Musk stated on social media that his brain-computer interface company Neuralink plans to begin mass production of brain-computer interface devices in 2026 and will shift towards a more streamlined and almost fully automated surgical process.

CITIC Securities pointed out in a research report that technological advancements in the upstream and midstream of the brain-computer interface industry chain are leading to continuous breakthroughs in downstream applications. In recent years, both domestically and internationally, milestone achievements have been made in research within medical fields such as motor recovery and language communication. With the catalysis of technological innovation and policy benefits, domestic brain-computer interface companies are expected to gradually achieve commercial applications.

This year will see the start of large-scale production.

Musk recently stated that Neuralink will begin large-scale production of brain-machine interface devices this year and move towards a more streamlined, fully automated surgical process.

Neuralink, founded in 2016, aims to enable people to control computers directly through neural signals using a coin-sized brain chip. The company is a typical representative of invasive brain-machine interface technology, and its brain-machine interface devices can insert electrode wires directly into the dura mater without the need for cutting it open, meaning less trauma.

As of now, Neuralink's brain implant devices are primarily aimed at patients with neurological conditions such as spinal cord injuries. According to the company, by September 2025, 12 severely paralyzed patients worldwide have received Neuralink's brain-computer interface devices. These patients have been able to perform tasks such as playing games, surfing the internet, and posting on social media. This marks a substantial breakthrough in restoring basic communication and environmental control capabilities.

Musk also expressed hope to achieve the "full brain-computer interface program" by 2028, which aims to fully integrate the human brain with AI and achieve connectivity at the level of consciousness. According to Musk's disclosed product roadmap, future developments will cover movement decoding (mainly targeting patients with movement disorders such as spinal cord injuries and ALS), visual encoding (mainly for patients with visual impairments), and a device called Deep, which can insert electrodes into any area of the brain, accessing any region to treat mental illnesses, pain, and other neurological disorders.

The commercialization of brain-computer interface accelerates domestically.

Domestically, companies such as Jieti Medical, Boruikang, and Brain Tiger Technology are accelerating clinical trials and demonstrating a development pattern with multiple technological routes running in parallel. The number of implant patients is expected to further increase by 2026.

In June last year, China's first invasive brain-computer interface clinical trial was successfully implemented, jointly conducted by the Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, and relevant enterprises. China has also become the second country in the world to master and conduct invasive brain-computer interface human trials.

Compared to invasive methods that require craniotomy, semi-invasive approaches (also known as electrocorticography, ECoG) maintain a better balance between safety and signal quality, and are considered to have greater commercial potential at this stage. The "Beina No. 1" GCP multi-center clinical trial, launched last October, is the world's first trial to achieve a quasi-practical semi-invasive system with over a hundred channels and wireless full implantation.

Currently, the "North Brain No. 1" intelligent brain-machine system has been successfully implanted in five patients with spinal cord injuries, and the sixth subject is expected to undergo the implantation surgery soon. The more advanced "North Brain No. 2" system is also expected to enter the clinical validation phase in 2026, with a speed of technological iteration exceeding expectations.

In addition, Boruicon has achieved outstanding results in the world's first multi-center registered clinical trial of implantable brain-computer interfaces; Stairway Medical has released the second-generation 256-channel wireless implantable brain-computer interface system; Tiger Brain Technology will complete the registration of formal clinical trials for brain-computer interface devices this year, accelerating the commercialization process of related products. By the end of 2025, the company has completed 54 human implantations of brain-computer interfaces.

In the A-share market, there are currently 39 brain engineering concept stocks with a total market capitalization of 651.7 billion yuan. Among them, Century Huatong (002602.SZ) and iFlytek (002230.SZ) each have a market value exceeding 100 billion yuan, while Yanshan Technology (002195.SZ) ranks third with a total market capitalization of 40.2 billion yuan. In terms of market performance, Century Huatong topped the list last year with a growth rate of 231.91%, and stocks like Saily Medical (603716.SH) and Innovative Medical (002173.SZ) also saw annual growth rates exceeding 100%.

Policy continues to exert force, with the potential to open up a market space worth hundreds of billions.

In fact, last year, China released several favorable policies in the field of brain-computer interfaces, and various regions have been continuously increasing their efforts to promote the accelerated development of the industry.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other departments previously issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of the Brain-Computer Interface Industry." Among them, it was proposed that by 2027, China will achieve breakthroughs in key technologies related to brain-computer interfaces, and initially establish an advanced technological system, industrial system, and standard system. In addition, the application of brain-computer interface products will accelerate, the industry scale will continue to grow, and 2 to 3 industrial development clusters will be created.

Recently, at the local level, Shanghai has issued "Several Measures to Further Deepen the Reform of Drug and Medical Device Regulation and Promote the High-Quality Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry," which mentions "brain-computer interface" multiple times. The document calls for focusing on key areas and products such as cell and gene therapy, brain-computer interfaces, and establishing a service list for key varieties under research; advancing the standardization research of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence medical devices and brain-computer interfaces.

The Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and Zhongguancun Administrative Committee previously issued a document stating plans to establish a special incubation fund for brain-computer interface and to create a Zhongguancun brain-computer interface industry cluster. Wuhan East Lake High-tech Zone introduced the "11 Measures for Brain-Computer Interface," focusing on five areas including strengthening technological product development and promoting the application of technological achievements, to accelerate the development and cultivation of the brain-computer interface industry.

CITIC Securities believes that various favorable policies have been introduced at the national and regional levels to promote rapid development of the industry. Recently, the National Healthcare Security Administration issued a document to set up a separate pricing project for the new brain-computer interface technology. Driven by technological innovation and policy benefits, domestic brain-computer interface companies are expected to gradually achieve commercial application.

In terms of market space, according to Precedence Research, the global brain-computer interface market size is approximately $2.62 billion in 2024, expected to reach $2.94 billion in 2025, and is projected to grow to $12.4 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of 17.35% over ten years.