Published : 04 Sep 2026, 03:25 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:47 AM
Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts to develop brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to rival Elon Musk’s Neuralink, according to local reports.
Several brain chip start-ups have already received approval from health regulators to sell devices, while insurers have announced the first commercial policies covering the invasive surgery required to fit them, The Independent reports.
BCIs can translate signals from the brain into digital or physical commands, allowing users to control devices such as computers or robotic limbs.
China became the first country in the world to approve BCI devices for commercial use earlier this year, with Beijing classifying the technology as a core future strategic industry in its latest five-year plan, the British daily said.
The latest device to win market approval is a cap fitted with electrodes developed by Tianjin-based Tiankai Suishi Intelligent Technology, the South China Morning Post reported.
The cap, which is already on sale, allows doctors to evaluate and diagnose patients’ cognitive functions.
Musk has previously described the coin-sized Neuralink device as a "Fitbit in your skull", claiming that future versions will allow wearers to achieve a "sort of symbiosis" with artificial intelligence.
"It could even get to the point where you can upload your memories and essentially have a saved version of yourself... then download that into a robot body or a clone version of your original self," he said during an event last year.
"I'm really getting into sci-fi here... but I do think stuff like that will be possible, which would give people a form of immortality."
In October, Neuralink revealed that more than 10,000 people had signed up to its patient registry to take part in trials of the brain chip technology, The Independent said.
At least 26 people have already been enrolled in or implanted with Neuralink’s BCI, according to reports, including patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and quadriplegia
Trials have successfully demonstrated the chip's ability to control computers using a person's thoughts, as well as move robotic limbs.
"Participants in our clinical trials have extended digital computer control to physical devices such as assistive robotic arms," Neuralink wrote in a social media post in December. "Over time, we plan to expand the range of devices controllable via Neuralink."
Beijing-backed start-up NeuCyber Neurotech said earlier this year that its most advanced product remained around three years behind the capabilities of Neuralink.
