Brain chip: Sondrel soared 105.9% after Mail Online revealed it helped with development of Neuralink brain chip
The value of Aim-listed Sondrel more than doubled following reports that it played a key role in Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip.
Shares in the Berkshire company soared 105.9 per cent, or 6.3p, to 12.25p, adding more than £5m to its £5m market capitalisation, after Mail Online revealed that Sondrel helped with the semiconductor technology that allows Neuralink implants to work.
Sondrel is one of the few companies capable of supplying the higher specification chips needed. Others are in Asia and are considered vulnerable to Chinese interference.
Neuralink, created in 2016, is working on a device that can be integrated into a person’s brain to record and potentially stimulate activity.
Musk has said the implants could allow users with disabilities, like the late Stephen Hawking, to move their bodies using their thoughts.
But safety fears meant Neuralink struggled to gain approval for human trials, while some experts have said the technology could be abused for “neurovigilance”.
It was able to begin testing the chip in humans after getting the go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September.
According to Mail Online, Neuralink turned to Sondrel for its expertise in designing the most complex chips.
Yesterday, Sondrel acknowledged the report and the share price movement, but said it did not comment on the identity of its clients.
“The group’s customer base continues to include world-leading technology brands,” he said.
The company is led by chief executive Graham Curren, who holds a degree in electronic engineering from the University of Leeds.
He founded Sondrel in 2002 after identifying a gap in the market for a company specializing in complex chip design.