Elon Musk’s Neuralink has thousands of people lined up for a brain chip implant. Here’s what we know about the surgery that replaces a portion of your skull.

• Elon Musk’s brain chip startup Neuralink has reportedly received interest from thousands of potential patients.
• The company reportedly aims to implant the device in 11 people next year.
• Here’s everything we know about the surgery that replaces a portion of your skull.

Thousands of potential patients are reportedly lining up to receive one of Neuralink’s first brain chips.

The brain-computer interface startup was cofounded by Elon Musk in 2016 and aims to eventually create a device that would allow people to do anything from communicate telepathically to play games using only their mind.

But first, Neuralink has said it hopes to help people with severe neurological disorders by allowing them to control devices and communicate using only their brain activity.

Neuralink received approval to begin human trials from the US Food and Drug Administration in May. Neuralink opened up applications for the trial in September.

The company is looking for people with quadriplegia or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to participate in the trial. Now, thousands of people have signed up to potentially get an implant, Bloomberg reported this week.

Neuralink has yet to perform the brain-implant surgery on a human. But in the meantime, here’s what we know about the process, according to videos from the startup, as well as media reports.

A spokesperson for the company did not respond to a request for comment.