Neuralink BCI Partnerships: Plans and Collaborations Revealed
- Neuralink runs its trials with Barrow Neurological Institute, the University of Miami, University Health Network in Toronto, University College London Hospitals, Newcastle Hospitals, and Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
- Implants have taken place in the US, Canada, and the UK; the Abu Dhabi site is recruiting, and no implant there has been reported as of October 2026.
- Neuralink reported zero serious device-related adverse events as of January 2026.
US trial sites
Neuralink's PRIME Study tests the N1 brain implant in people with quadriplegia from spinal cord injury or ALS. Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, hosted the first implants and follow-up visits, drawing on its neurosurgery expertise for the robot-assisted procedure. Participants have typed at up to 40 words per minute using imagined finger movements, according to Neuralink.
The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, through The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, joined as a second PRIME site, with its first implant in April 2025. Its physicians screen candidates and perform surgeries.
US sites performed 10 implants by late October 2025, with participants like Noland Arbaugh using the device daily for gaming and 3D modeling. Barrow also hosts the CONVOY study, which tests robotic arm control.
International sites
In the United Kingdom, GB-PRIME runs at University College London Hospitals (UCLH), the lead site, and Newcastle Hospitals. It was announced in July 2025, and the first UK participant was implanted that October.
Canada's CAN-PRIME, approved in November 2024, runs at University Health Network in Toronto, where the first two Canadian implants took place in late August and early September 2025.
The United Arab Emirates hosts UAE-PRIME at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, with the Department of Health Abu Dhabi. UAE-PRIME started recruiting in May 2025 for people with upper-limb paralysis; no implant there has been reported as of October 2026, according to its trial record and Neura Pod's trial sites list.
Research and speech
The VOICE speech trial at UT Southwestern in Dallas enrolls people with ALS, PLS, stroke, or spinal cord injury. Its first participants were implanted in early 2026.
Blindsight, Neuralink's planned vision implant, has an FDA Breakthrough Device Designation, but no Blindsight trial or site has been announced. Neuralink also submitted data from its first three participants to the New England Journal of Medicine for peer review.
What comes next
Neuralink reported 21 participants on January 28, 2026, and Neura Pod's patient table lists 27+ publicly known patients as of October 2026. Neuralink covers study-related travel costs. Jon Noble, a UK participant, wrote in December 2025 that more than 10,000 people were on the US waiting list.
This article was first published in October 2025 and corrected in October 2026; the latest patient count is on the patient table.
