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Synchron beat Neuralink to human implantation. The startup announced a successful Stentrode implant in Australia on September 20, 2019—more than four years before Neuralink announced its first human implant in January 2024.
What “beat Neuralink to human studies” means
The comparison depends on which milestone is being counted. Synchron reached a human clinical feasibility study first, with an endovascular Stentrode implant announced on September 20, 2019. Neuralink’s later milestones were FDA authorization for a first-in-human study in May 2023, recruitment for its PRIME Study in September 2023, and its first announced human implant in January 2024.
Precision Neuroscience also performed first-in-human pilot procedures in June 2023, before Neuralink’s implant announcement. That pilot had a different purpose: mapping human brain activity during neurosurgery rather than evaluating a permanently implanted communication system.
The timeline, milestone by milestone
- September 20, 2019 — Synchron reaches human participants. Synchron announced that its Stentrode had been clinically implanted in Australia in a first feasibility trial aimed at restoring communication for people with severe paralysis.
- 2021 — Synchron receives U.S. investigational authorization. The company announced FDA Investigational Device Exemption authorization for human trials. An IDE permits a device to be studied in people; it is not marketing approval.
- July 2022 — First U.S. Synchron implant. Mount Sinai reported that the first Stentrode implant in the U.S. COMMAND study was performed in July 2022 in a participant with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
- May 2023 — Neuralink gets authorization for its first-in-human study. Neuralink said the FDA approved the launch of its first-in-human clinical study.
- June 2023 — Precision Neuroscience runs a human pilot. Precision announced successful first-in-human pilot procedures with West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. The work focused on high-resolution brain-activity mapping during neurosurgery.
- September 2023 — Neuralink begins PRIME recruitment. Neuralink said it officially began recruiting participants for the PRIME Study.
- January 2024 — Neuralink announces its first human implant. The Associated Press reported Elon Musk’s announcement that Neuralink had implanted its first human participant.
Why Synchron moved into human testing earlier
Stentrode uses a blood-vessel route
Synchron’s Stentrode is delivered through a catheter routed from the jugular vein to a vein beside the brain’s motor cortex. The company describes the approach as “no open brain surgery”: the procedure works more like placing a vascular stent and does not require cutting through the skull. Mount Sinai likewise describes the implant as being placed in a vein alongside the motor cortex.
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Neuralink uses surgical implantation
Neuralink’s PRIME Study evaluates a surgically implanted brain-computer interface and a surgical robot in people with quadriplegia. Its approach requires an operation to place the device in the brain.
The different delivery methods provide a plausible explanation for Synchron’s earlier start: an endovascular procedure may have allowed the company to begin feasibility work without the same open-skull operation required by Neuralink. The available announcements do not establish that invasiveness was the only reason for the timing, however. Company decisions, regulatory review, trial preparation and clinical partnerships also affect when a study can begin.
What each company was trying to demonstrate
| Company and system | Implant approach | Regulatory or study milestone | Study purpose | Participants and setting | Function or output described |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Synchron — Stentrode | Catheter delivery through a blood vessel from the jugular vein; no open-skull surgery | Australian first feasibility implant announced September 20, 2019; FDA IDE authorization announced in 2021; first U.S. COMMAND implant in July 2022 | Assess safety, signal stability and restoration of digital communication | People with severe paralysis; the first U.S. COMMAND participant had ALS | Hands-free control of digital devices was evaluated |
| Neuralink — PRIME implant | Surgically implanted device placed with a surgical robot | FDA authorization announced May 2023; recruitment began September 2023; first announced human implant January 2024 | Evaluate the safety of the implant and robot and initial functionality for controlling external devices by thought | People with quadriplegia | Initial thought-based control of external devices |
| Precision Neuroscience — pilot system | Temporary or pilot electrodes used during neurosurgery, according to the company’s announcement | First-in-human pilot procedures announced June 2023 | Map human brain activity at high resolution | Participants undergoing neurosurgery at WVU’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute | High-resolution recording and mapping of brain activity |
Was Synchron first in the United States?
No. Synchron’s first human implant was announced in Australia in 2019. Its first U.S. implant came later, in July 2022, under the COMMAND study at Mount Sinai. That U.S. milestone still preceded Neuralink’s first announced human implant by roughly 18 months.
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Not as a commercially approved product based on the milestones described here. Synchron announced FDA Investigational Device Exemption authorization in 2021, allowing clinical investigation in people. An IDE is permission to study an investigational device under a defined protocol; it does not mean the device has received FDA marketing clearance or approval for ordinary clinical use.
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Neuralink’s May 2023 FDA milestone has the same important distinction: it authorized the company to launch a first-in-human study, not to sell the implant generally. The Stentrode, Neuralink’s PRIME system and Precision’s pilot technology should therefore be understood as investigational clinical systems rather than consumer products.
How the three milestones should be compared
First human procedure
Synchron leads this category with its 2019 Australian feasibility implant. Precision’s June 2023 pilot is another first-in-human event, but it addressed brain mapping during neurosurgery. Neuralink’s first announced implant came in January 2024.
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First U.S. implant
Synchron’s first U.S. COMMAND implant occurred in July 2022. The participant had ALS, and Mount Sinai reported the procedure.
Regulatory authorization
Synchron announced U.S. IDE authorization in 2021. Neuralink announced FDA approval to launch its first-in-human study in May 2023. These are regulatory steps toward clinical research, not evidence that either system is approved for routine treatment.
What “success” means
A first implant proves that a clinical study reached a participant; it does not by itself establish long-term safety, reliable performance, broad eligibility or commercial readiness. Synchron’s early work targeted communication for people with severe paralysis. Neuralink’s PRIME Study targets safety and initial device control. Precision’s pilot targeted measurement and mapping rather than a consumer-facing communication service.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the distinction matters for patients and readers
- Human study is not consumer availability. Participants enroll under clinical protocols, with eligibility rules and monitoring that do not apply to a retail product.
- Regulatory authorization is not full approval. IDE authorization or permission to begin a first-in-human study allows evidence gathering; it does not establish a broadly approved treatment.
- Different implants answer different questions. A vascularly delivered communication interface, a surgically implanted thought-control system and a temporary mapping pilot cannot be ranked by a single performance number.
- Chronology is not an efficacy ranking. Synchron’s earlier implant demonstrates an earlier clinical start, not that it is automatically safer, more accurate or more capable than Neuralink or Precision.
The bottom line on Synchron versus Neuralink
Synchron was first to publicly announce a human brain-computer-interface implantation, reaching an Australian feasibility study in September 2019. Its Stentrode’s blood-vessel delivery route avoids cutting through the skull and was followed by a first U.S. implant in July 2022. Neuralink’s FDA study authorization and PRIME recruitment came in 2023, and its first announced human implant followed in January 2024. Precision Neuroscience’s June 2023 pilot belongs in the timeline, but it was a separate brain-mapping study. None of these milestones represents ordinary consumer availability or full commercial approval.
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