Anand Mahindra's heartfelt message for Elon Musk on Blindsight device

The Blindsight device from Elon Musk's brain-chip startup company Neuralink will enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see.

In Short

• Anand Mahindra praises Blindsight as Musk's best gift
• Neuralink's Blindsight device gets FDA approval
• Device aims to help blind people see

Impressed by the Blindsight device from Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup company Neuralink, industrialist Anand Mahindra said that it will be the tech billionaire’s “most enduring gift to humankind” if it lives up to expectations.

Musk announced on September 18 that Neuralink has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the experimental implant device which will "enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see".

“The Blindsight device from Neuralink will enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see. Provided the visual cortex is intact, it will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time,” Musk had said while describing the device in his post.

Elated with the update, Mahindra shared the post with a heartfelt message for Musk, “If this device lives up to these expectations then, much more than Tesla or Space X, THIS will be your most enduring gift to humankind.”

Elon Musk is the co-founder of six companies, including electric car maker Tesla, and aerospace giant SpaceX.

Meanwhile, speaking about Blindsight, Musk had also said in his post featuring a picture of Geordi La Forge that, “To set expectations correctly, the vision will be at first be low resolution, like Atari graphics, but eventually it has the potential be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge.”

Geordi La Forge is a character from the sci-fi TV series Star Trek who is visually-impaired from birth but uses several technological devices that allow him to see.

The announcement of Blindsight comes a month after Elon Musk said that Neuralink will provide brain chip implants to eight more patients in 2024.