Neuralink's animal demos showed its implant working in animals before any person received one.
In 2020 it showed Gertrude the pig with an implant reading signals from her snout, and in 2021 Pager the monkey played the video game Pong with his mind. The animal program has also drawn criticism, including FDA findings at Neuralink's animal lab reported by Reuters in 2024 (Fierce Biotech).
