--- title: China performs first commercial brain implant, beats... description: Surgeons at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai have performed the world's first surgery using a commercially approved brain-computer interface, implanting Neuracle's... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/china-performs-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-sj9jzfyhl twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: China performs first commercial brain implant, beats Neuralink | daily.dev og:description: Surgeons at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai have performed the world's first surgery using a commercially approved brain-computer interface, implanting Neuracle's... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/china-performs-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-sj9jzfyhl og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/sJ9jZfyHL.png og:image:alt: China performs first commercial brain implant, beats Neuralink og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # China performs first commercial brain implant, beats Neuralink **[The Next Web](https://daily.dev/sources/tnw)** · 4 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Surgeons at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai have performed the world's first surgery using a commercially approved brain-computer interface, implanting Neuracle's NEO device in a spinal-cord injury patient. NEO is a coin-sized, 8-electrode chip that rests on the brain's surface rather than piercing it, making it lower-risk and easier to approve than Neuralink's more invasive implant. China's National Medical Products Administration approved NEO in March, and within four months it moved through production, hospital rollout, patient screening, and into local commercial health insurance coverage. While Neuralink has implanted its device in over 20 trial patients but lacks full FDA commercial approval, China has prioritized a more modest, approvable device and shipped it first. Beijing has designated BCIs a strategic industry, targeting two or three global leaders by 2030, and is simultaneously pursuing non-invasive wearable headsets for the mass market. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the Neuracle NEO brain-computer interface and how does it differ from Neuralink's implant? NEO is a coin-sized brain-computer interface made by Shanghai-based Neuracle Medical Technology, carrying eight electrodes that rest on the brain's surface rather than piercing cortical tissue like Neuralink's implant does. This surface placement captures less neural detail than Neuralink's approach but is lower-risk and easier to gain regulatory approval for. NEO won approval from China's National Medical Products Administration in March and was implanted in a patient with hand impairment from a spinal cord injury at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai. _Following brain-computer interface milestones alongside other emerging hardware and AI developments keeps engineers ahead on daily.dev._ ### Has Neuralink received full commercial approval from the FDA? No, Neuralink has not received full commercial approval from the US FDA. It has implanted its device in more than 20 trial patients as part of ongoing research aimed at letting people with paralysis control computers and robotic limbs by thought, but it remains at the experimental trial stage rather than being a prescribable commercial product. _Tracking regulatory milestones like this helps engineers gauge when experimental neurotech becomes deployable, a comparison daily.dev surfaces well._ ### How long did it take China to move the NEO brain implant from regulatory approval to patient use with insurance coverage? It took four months. Neuracle's NEO won approval from China's National Medical Products Administration in March, and within that period it moved through production, hospital rollout, patient screening, and inclusion in local commercial health insurance before being implanted in a patient at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai. _Comparing regulatory and commercialization speed across countries is easier when following stories like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [China approves first commercial brain implant, beats Neuralink](https://daily.dev/posts/china-approves-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-5rfpg8yxp) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [China has approved the world’s first invasive brain-computer chip—here’s what’s next](https://daily.dev/posts/china-has-approved-the-world-s-first-invasive-brain-computer-chip-here-s-what-s-next-e33fcr7u6) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing ahead](https://daily.dev/posts/china-s-brain-computer-interface-industry-is-racing-ahead-buoqhnmqu) · TechCrunch · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [The Download: China’s brain implant ambitions](https://daily.dev/posts/the-download-china-s-brain-implant-ambitions-iqyerbyfb) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [China's BrainCo bets brain tech is a headband, not surgery](https://daily.dev/posts/china-s-brainco-bets-brain-tech-is-a-headband-not-surgery-meawb8wdj) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#brain-computer-interface](https://daily.dev/tags/brain-computer-interface) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/china-performs-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-sj9jzfyhl) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"China performs first commercial brain implant, beats Neuralink","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/china-performs-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-sj9jzfyhl","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/china-performs-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-sj9jzfyhl"},"datePublished":"2026-07-17T08:25:14.721Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T20:17:09.507Z","description":"Surgeons at Huashan Hospital in Shanghai have performed the world's first surgery using a commercially approved brain-computer interface, implanting Neuracle's...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/03dd1cc9d4eb4369fefcdd2fc722b12c?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/03dd1cc9d4eb4369fefcdd2fc722b12c?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Next Web","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Next Web","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tnw","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/china-performs-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-sj9jzfyhl","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"tech-news,brain-computer-interface","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Next Web","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"China performs first commercial brain implant, beats Neuralink"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/china-performs-first-commercial-brain-implant-beats-neuralink-sj9jzfyhl#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the Neuracle NEO brain-computer interface and how does it differ from Neuralink's implant?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"NEO is a coin-sized brain-computer interface made by Shanghai-based Neuracle Medical Technology, carrying eight electrodes that rest on the brain's surface rather than piercing cortical tissue like Neuralink's implant does. 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