Valve boss Gabe Newell, who is developing a brain implant startup, will release his first neurochip, Starfish, this year. They promise that it will be better than Elon Musk's Neuralink

According to The Verge, unlike Elon Musk’s Neuralink chips, these implants will be easier to implant and connect to multiple parts of the brain at once. The chip’s dimensions should be just 2×4×0.3 mm (versus 23 mm for Neuralink), and its power consumption should be 1.1 mW (versus 6 mW for Neuralink).

Here are the technical specifications of the chip:

• Low power consumption: 1.1mW total power consumption during normal recording.
• Size: 2×4 mm (BGA pitch 0.3 mm).
• Capable of both recording (spikes and LFP) and stimulation (biphasic pulses).
• 32 electrode pads, 16 simultaneous recording channels at a frequency of 18.75 kHz.
• 1 current source for stimulation on arbitrary pairs of electrodes.
• Built-in impedance monitoring and transient measurement of stimulation voltage.
• Digital onboard data processing and spike detection allows the device to operate over low-bandwidth wireless interfaces.
• Manufactured using TSMC’s 55 nm process. It is expected that Starfish neurochips will be used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and beyond. In addition, a version is being created for «burning out» malignant tumors. There is no talk of creating a neuroimplant yet. In the future, Starfish plans to integrate the neurochip into an implant of its own design, which will work without a battery and transmit data wirelessly. The company is currently looking for partners willing to use its technology in their products. The developers have not yet announced when human trials will begin.

A person had a neurochip implanted in their brain (not Musk’s company). Ukrainian neurophysiologist, investor, and biotechnologist talk about the risks and importance of such an operation

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A person had a neurochip implanted in their brain (not Musk’s company). Ukrainian neurophysiologist, investor, and biotechnologist talk about the risks and importance of such an operation

Ukraine is considering two approaches to chip production — Pureplay Foundry and Small Clean Rooms: what do they entail?

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