Founder, Dargentic Intelligence • BCI & Neural Interfaces
Joined March 2021
- Tweets 1,278
- Following 328
- Followers 704
- Likes 4,388
163 Photos and videos
Last week I spoke to Noland Arbaugh @ModdedQuad about his journey & his views on a BCI future.
Then we drew some lines together on a shared canvas: him controlling the cursor using his thoughts (via @neuralink), and me - the old school way, using a computer trackpad.
3
11
80
36,076
The release of Fable 5 has opened up large-scale discussions on some of the most important topics in AI:
- privacy
- oversight
- government intervention
At this point of the timeline, the prominence of these discussions is much more significant and foundational to the future of AI than Fable 5’s operational capabilities in isolation.
A fork in the road. Long overdue.
Jun 13
The US government, citing national security authorities, has issued an export control directive to suspend all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 by any foreign national, whether inside or outside the United States, including foreign national Anthropic employees.
The net effect of this order is that we must abruptly disable Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for all our customers to ensure compliance.
Access to all other Claude models is not affected.
We apologize for this disruption to our customers. We believe this is a misunderstanding and are working to restore access as soon as possible.
Read our full statement: anthropic.com/news/fable-myt…
4
116
Velco Dar retweeted
Jun 11
What if your brain could tell you what you’re feeling before you could put it into words?
@tomoxl on the possibility that future brain-computer interfaces could help us better understand our own emotional states.
Full conversation on the @JuanBenet Podcast >>> youtu.be/0gvHqRv8gTg
1
2
6
735
Velco Dar retweeted
Jun 8
fun fact: tijdens de keynote hakt Apple een stukje 3k, 4k, 5k en 6kHz eruit wanneer ze "Siri" zeggen, zodat niet iedereens HomePods terug beginnen te praten 🗣️🚫
117
970
24,785
1,086,751
Last week Argentina announced a new legal category for AI agent corporations: entities that can own assets, hire employees, sign contracts, sue and be sued, with no human shareholders required.
I published the piece below back in February, working through the historical precedents for limited personhood and the case for moving deliberately rather than waiting until agents are operating without any legal category.
Yesterday Yuval Noah Harari @harari_yuval published an @FinancialTimes op-ed warning against the Argentina move. We reach for the same historical example, the Dutch East India Company, but reach different conclusions. He sees Batavia. I see precedent.
The bigger picture to consider is the argument I touched on in February: the BCI-augmented human-machine hybrid changes the personhood question structurally, not just legally.
1
6
206
We are trying to create artificial intelligence using something as limited as language.
It is a tool with very low bandwidth /information flow as well as limited fidelity.
No real AGI / ASI until we connect AI directly to the cortex using BCI.
7 Jun 2025
BREAKING: Apple just proved AI "reasoning" models like Claude, DeepSeek-R1, and o3-mini don't actually reason at all.
They just memorize patterns really well.
Here's what Apple discovered:
(hint: we're not as close to AGI as the hype suggests)
1
1
2
634
Humans have always merged with machines to transcend old limits.
The camera extended our eyes and memory, capturing moments our brains alone couldn't hold. Automobiles amplified speed, computers our cognition, smartphones our connectivity and now BCIs are fusing minds directly with tech, unlocking unprecedented realities for many.
The cyborg evolution has been with us all along.
2
5
147
Full op-ed on InsideBCI @InsideBCI insidebci.com/opinion/2026-0…
2
64
BCI brain controlled robotics is a premise that most are not ready for yet.
A reality plausible within a decade
Jun 6
Today across the world it is estimated that a new Humanoid Robot is produced every 10 seconds. It will be every second in 3 years.
8
23
220
18,818
The man who built Internet Explorer at Microsoft in 1994, sold a neural-interface startup to Meta for $500m - $1b in 2019, and spent five years building the Meta Neural Band, has now raised $500m for Flourish, his brain-inspired AI startup.
Bezos invested nearly $100m
Jun 6
Jeff Bezos puts nearly $100M into Internet Explorer creator Thomas Reardon's new brain-inspired AI startup, in a $500M round at a $2.5B valuation ift.tt/IAWxQUs
#BCI #Neurotech #BrainComputerInterface
1
5
422
Velco Dar retweeted
Jun 3
Neuralink hires its first federal lobbyists, with former House Ways and Means Rep. Ron Kind on the brain-computer interface coverage account ift.tt/KDQUilZ
#BCI #Neurotech #BrainComputerInterface
3
3
417
'As the technology evolves, it has the potential to expand to more regions of the brain — opening new possibilities for treatment, communication, and scientific discovery.'
I am constantly surprized at the asymmetry between Neuralink's following (and awareness around it) and that of any other serious BCI player in the space. Precision Neuroscience is doing incredible work in high resolution invasive BCIs and has already secured FDA 510(k) for its electrode arrays in April 2025.
Follow @PrecisionNeuro_
For more than two decades, @PrecisionNeuro_ co-founder Dr. Benjamin Rapoport has worked to close the gap between the engineers and scientists building BCI technology and the real-world needs of the people it’s meant to serve — along with their physicians and caregivers.
Today, our BCI tech is designed to help people living with paralysis operate digital devices using only their thoughts, restoring independence and connection for millions. And this is only the beginning. As the technology evolves, it has the potential to expand to more regions of the brain — opening new possibilities for treatment, communication, and scientific discovery.
Learn more here: precisionneuro.io
2
9
485
Here is an overview of the 10 leading BCI companies - there is an entire BCI universe outside of Neuralink, doing very important work:
x.com/VelcoDar/status/205942…
Ten leading companies are racing to commercialize Brain-Computer Interfaces across various access modes.
Here is a brief summary of the leading startups in the space:
@neuralink is the most heavily funded in the category at $1.29 billion cumulative capital backing. Its 1,024-electrode N1 array operates under the FDA-approved PRIME study, recently expanded to 21 participants. Targeting high-volume production and thousands of implants annually by 2030.
@synchroninc (US/Australia) offers the most advanced endovascular approach with its Stentrode; it closed a $200 million Series D, achieved Apple BCI HID integration, and is developing the Chiral cognitive foundation model with NVIDIA.
@BlackrockNeuro_ brings the longest clinical track record in implantable BCI, over 40 human implants since 2004. Its 96-channel Utah Array remains the academic research standard across published BCI literature. Tether acquired a majority stake for $200 million in 2024.
@PrecisionNeuro_ Neuroscience uses ultra-thin surface electrodes (1,024 channels per array, 4,096 demonstrated) and closed a $102 million Series C in December 2024; its lower-risk approach secured FDA 510(k) for its electrode arrays in April 2025.
@ScienceCorp_ is closest to Western commercialization with its PRIMA retinal implant; it raised $230 million in March 2026 and expects CE mark approval by mid-2026.
@paradromics achieved 200 bps in preclinical testing with its 421-electrode* Connexus array. First chronic human implant expected H1 2026. (*Single module; full Connexus system links up to four modules for 1,600 channels at full deployment.)
@merge closed a $252 million seed round led by OpenAI in January 2026 at an $850 million valuation. Pursuing non-invasive sonogenetics. Stealth mode, no public product timeline released yet.
Neuracle Medical Technology secured the world’s first regulatory approval for an implantable BCI in March 2026 (NMPA clearance for its NEO device).
Stairmed Technology is the most heavily capitalized invasive Chinese player after a $72.5 million round backed by Alibaba and Tencent.
BrainCo Inc leads non-invasive BCI globally with scaled products in education and prosthetics; closed a $286 million Series B-II round in January 2026 at a $1.3B pre- IPO valuation, with a Hong Kong IPO targeted.
Analysis and map from Dargentic's BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACES: THE TAKEOFF ERA Report, Released April 2026 (data cut off 31 March 2026).
3
73
Velco Dar retweeted
Brian Eno, “Keep it in mind,” from a music magazine ad (1982)
5
78
368
9,755
Velco Dar retweeted
May 30
NeuroXess says its Mandarin-decoding brain implant runs at 300 characters a minute, faster than native speech ift.tt/NLOmuDs
#BCI #Neurotech #BrainComputerInterface
1
1
87
The era of the enhanced human is not too far ahead of us.
Brain-Computer Interface headlines are still entirely medical. Amazing (and incredibly important) work is being done in restoration.
But we will soon approach a tipping point where BCIs don't just fix what was lost, they start adding capabilities humans never had.
1
7
210
Velco Dar retweeted
This is a once-in-human-history moment. Rethink how you spend time. Rethink how you spend money. Whatever you do, don't stay stuck or frozen in the past.
95
287
2,768
117,778
Ten leading companies are racing to commercialize Brain-Computer Interfaces across various access modes.
Here is a brief summary of the leading startups in the space:
@neuralink is the most heavily funded in the category at $1.29 billion cumulative capital backing. Its 1,024-electrode N1 array operates under the FDA-approved PRIME study, recently expanded to 21 participants. Targeting high-volume production and thousands of implants annually by 2030.
@synchroninc (US/Australia) offers the most advanced endovascular approach with its Stentrode; it closed a $200 million Series D, achieved Apple BCI HID integration, and is developing the Chiral cognitive foundation model with NVIDIA.
@BlackrockNeuro_ brings the longest clinical track record in implantable BCI, over 40 human implants since 2004. Its 96-channel Utah Array remains the academic research standard across published BCI literature. Tether acquired a majority stake for $200 million in 2024.
@PrecisionNeuro_ Neuroscience uses ultra-thin surface electrodes (1,024 channels per array, 4,096 demonstrated) and closed a $102 million Series C in December 2024; its lower-risk approach secured FDA 510(k) for its electrode arrays in April 2025.
@ScienceCorp_ is closest to Western commercialization with its PRIMA retinal implant; it raised $230 million in March 2026 and expects CE mark approval by mid-2026.
@paradromics achieved 200 bps in preclinical testing with its 421-electrode* Connexus array. First chronic human implant expected H1 2026. (*Single module; full Connexus system links up to four modules for 1,600 channels at full deployment.)
@merge closed a $252 million seed round led by OpenAI in January 2026 at an $850 million valuation. Pursuing non-invasive sonogenetics. Stealth mode, no public product timeline released yet.
Neuracle Medical Technology secured the world’s first regulatory approval for an implantable BCI in March 2026 (NMPA clearance for its NEO device).
Stairmed Technology is the most heavily capitalized invasive Chinese player after a $72.5 million round backed by Alibaba and Tencent.
BrainCo Inc leads non-invasive BCI globally with scaled products in education and prosthetics; closed a $286 million Series B-II round in January 2026 at a $1.3B pre- IPO valuation, with a Hong Kong IPO targeted.
Analysis and map from Dargentic's BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACES: THE TAKEOFF ERA Report, Released April 2026 (data cut off 31 March 2026).
1
6
225
This is actually a quote from Lt Gen Liu Guozhi, a top-ranking scientist in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), People's Republic of China.
China’s Military-Civil Fusion doctrine, elevated to national strategy and institutionalized in the 15th Five- Year Plan (2026–2030), requires civilian technology firms to align with PLA (People’s Liberation Army) needs. Neurotechnology is EXPLICITLY named as a priority domain in this regard.
58