--- title: "Neuralink Co-Founder Leaves Company For Unknown Reasons" description: "Co-Founder of Neuralink, Max Hodak, has suddenly left the company. Find out what Hodak says about leaving the brain implant startup." date: "2021-05-01" modified: "2021-05-17" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/max-hodak-leaving-neuralink" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Prosthetics and Devices" tags: - "elon musk" - "max hodak" - "neuralink" - "the digest" --- # Neuralink Co-Founder Leaves Company For Unknown Reasons ![Thanks to an array of electrodes implanted in their brains, two monkeys were able to "see" and recognize individual shapes — without using their eyes.]() *\Image: RedCoat\* ## Leaving Song Max Hodak, the co-founder of brain implant startup Neuralink, announced today that he's leaving the company. Hodak, who started the ultra-ambitious venture with Elon Musk and had until recently served as its president, didn't say why he was leaving the company or on what terms. In other words, it's not currently clear whether he left voluntary or was fired. "I am no longer at Neuralink (as of a few weeks ago)," he [wrote in a tweet](). "I learned a ton there and remain a huge cheerleader for the company! Onward to new things." ## Best Guess Musk has been a prominent spokesperson for Neuralink, and has used that position to [promise incredible results]() that many outside brain scientists remain [very skeptical about](). It's unclear whether Hodak's departure had to do with those outsize expectations. He declined to comment for this story. It is worth noting, though, that Hodak appears to have taken a shot at Musk on his way out the door. In reply to his tweet about leaving the company, one person said that they weren't a fan of leadership changes at a company that hadn't yet shipped a product. Hodak's reply [was just a single word](): "same." ## Life Finds a Way During his tenure at Neuralink, Hodak has sometimes attracted attention for sharing [eccentric ideas]() about topics that occasionally [fall far beyond computing and neuroscience](). A particularly striking example took place last month, when [Hodak opined that]() the tech now exists for scientists to "build Jurassic Park if we wanted to" — a musing that picked up an immense amount of media scrutiny. In his signoff, Hodak alluded to that episode when someone asked him what was next in his career. "Not Jurassic Park," [he replied](). **More on Max Hodak:** *[Neuralink Co-Founder Has an Idea for a New Religion]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()