Neuralink Co-Founder Max Hodak: The Future Of Brain-Computer Interfaces | Y Combinator Podcast

Synopsis:

YC alum Max Hodak is the co-founder of Neuralink and founder of Science, a company building brain-computer interfaces that can restore sight.

Science has developed a tiny retinal implant that stimulates cells in the eye to help blind patients see again. More than 40 patients have already received the treatment in clinical trials, including one who recently read a full novel for the first time in over a decade.

In this episode of How to Build the Future, Max joined Garry to discuss how BCIs work, what it takes to engineer the brain, and why brain-computer interfaces may become one of the most important technologies of the next decade.

Timestamps:

[00:00:31] Welcome Max Hodak

[00:00:54] Restoring Sight with the Prima Implant

[00:01:57] What is a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)?

[00:05:51] Neuroplasticity and BCI

[00:09:31] The Qualia of BCI

[00:13:10] The Next 5 to 10 Years

[00:24:29] Max's Background in Tech and Biology

[00:29:03] Biohybrid Neural Interfaces

[00:33:04] Lessons from Neuralink

[00:34:31] The Unification of AI and Neuroscience

[00:39:42] The Vessel Program (Organ Perfusion)

[00:44:25] The Origins of Neuralink

[00:47:20] Advice for Founders

[00:51:32] The 2035 Event Horizon

Link to the Full Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gspRJVp9dI

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