Elon Musk is going full throttle on plans to release brain-computer interface chips in the new year, announcing on Wednesday that his company Neurolink will begin “high-volume production” in 2026.

“Neuralink will start high-volume production of brain-computer interface devices and move to a streamlined, almost entirely automated surgical procedure in 2026,” he wrote in a post on X, adding that the device threads will go through the outermost membrane that protects the brain without the need to remove it. 

“This is a big deal,” he added.

The coin-sized chip, known as “The Link,” is implanted under the skull and employs 64 ultra-thin threads containing 1,024 electrodes to read brain activity and connect those signals with a computer.

The implant is designed to improve the debilitating conditions associated with spinal cord injuries.

Neuralink’s application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for human trials was originally rejected in 2022, but after they addressed safety concerns, they began testing in 2024. The first patient to receive the interface showed improvement and used it to play video games, browse the internet, post on social media, and move a cursor across a laptop screen.

Neuralink announced in September that a dozen people with severe paralysis had received the implant and were able to use their thoughts to operate both digital and physical tools.

In July, he had announced on X that the ultimate aim is to reduce the risks posed by artificial intelligence and foster “a closer symbiosis between human intelligence and digital intelligence.”

Mr. Musk mentioned that the objective is “to give people superpowers,” as he detailed changes to address the previous problem of electrode threads retracting from brain tissue in future surgeries by placing them more accurately on the brain’s folds.