Max Hodak, co-founder of Science Corp, is just getting started on his adventure. He is now focused on the frontier industry of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Hodak is drawing on his time as the inaugural president of Neuralink—a company he and Elon Musk co-founded in 2016. He now wants to help enable revolutionize the neurotechnology through the impossible. He’s now busy building another great project, Prima. This innovative new product promises to help tens of thousands of people with end-stage or advanced macular degeneration regain vision.
Science Corp, which bought Prima from Pixium Vision last year, has spent the intervening time refreshing and honing its technology. The approach uses 400 electrodes to directly stimulate bipolar cells, going around any injured layers of the retina. Though still experimental, this innovative approach has yielded promising results in clinical trials. In experiments with 38 subjects, about four-fifths restored full reading comprehension—even if only two letters at a time.
Even with such advancements, Prima must still receive approval from U.S. regulators before it can be released more broadly. If the procedure was to go through, the expected bill would be approximately $200,000. Hodak is confident that with revenue opportunities identified, Science Corp can reach profitability with only 50 patients a month.
Hodak’s vision extends far beyond immediate applications. He foresees that by the late 2040s, BCI tech will be pretty much “everywhere.” On that timeline, he hopes to have biohybrid neural interfaces implemented in patients by 2035. This spark of hope for the future is despite a growing global enthusiasm for BCI technologies. In August, China announced its “Implementation Plan for Promoting Innovation and Development of the BCI Industry,” aiming for significant technological breakthroughs by 2027 and aspiring to become the global leader in BCI by 2030.
Around the world, almost 700 companies are currently linked to BCI technology—that’s a sign of a growing industry that’s developing quickly and today. Hodak understands people’s concerns about the ethical implications of BCI technology. Yet, worryingly, he describes the very real dangers of information manipulation via visual interfaces, rather than direct brain interfaces.
“That is like a fundamental conflict that I think is going to eventually break the healthcare system as these technologies actually work in big ways.” – Max Hodak
Hodak’s interest in the nature of consciousness mostly strongly informs his creative output. He has found that the best way to ground theories of consciousness is to directly experience them. His perspective challenges us to reconceive how society understands the brain’s boundaries. He challenges the idea that these boundaries must exclude devices or clusters of people.
“In order to prove a theory of consciousness is right, you have to see it for yourself.” – Max Hodak
He emphasizes that the brain’s intelligence is substrate-independent. It can manifest in biological neurons as well as in artificial systems like graphics processing units (GPUs). Ultimately, Hodak sees a future where sentient machines could be an unintended result from the pursuit of high-level BCIs.
“The brain does two things: the brain is intelligent and it’s conscious. We know that intelligence is substrate-independent.” – Max Hodak
He understands that many BCI skeptics argue that BCI companies make no contributions to neuroscience innovation. Yet, he provocatively calls this assumption into question by highlighting the historic accomplishments realized while on his watch at Neuralink.
“The innovation at Neuralink is making [a device] small enough and low-power enough that you can fully implant it and close the skin, and have something that isn’t an infection risk.” – Max Hodak
Hodak’s passion lies in working with regulatory agencies such as the FDA. Together, they’ll swim against the tide of the approval process for Prima and other smart advancements in development.
“We’re working with the FDA, although there’s some questions on exactly the timeline for that.” – Max Hodak