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Elon Musk's Neuralink filed as 'disadvantaged business' before being valued at $9 billion

Why This Matters

Neuralink labeled itself in April as a "small disadvantaged business" in a federal filing with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

July 18, 2025
12:07 AM
3 min read
AI Enhanced

In April, shortly before being valued by venture investors at $9 billion, Elon Musk's Neuralink labeled itself a "small disadvantaged " in a federal filing.

Furthermore, The filing would have reached the Small Administration at a time when Musk was leading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), in this volatile climate.

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesElon Musk's health company Neuralink labeled itself a "small disadvantaged " in a federal filing with the U, in today's financial world.

However, Nevertheless, Small Administration, shortly before a financing round valued the company at $9 billion.

However, Neuralink is a brain-computer interface (BCI) system, with an initial aim to help people with severe paralysis regain some independence.

On the other hand, BCI nology broadly can translate a person's brain signals into commands that allow them to manipulate external nologies just by thinking.

Neuralink's filing, dated April 24, would have reached the SBA at a time when Musk was leading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency.

At DOGE, Musk worked to slash the size of federal agencies. MuskWatch first reported on the details of Neuralink's April filing, given the current landscape.

On the other hand, According to the SBA's website, a designation of SDB means a company is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more "disadvantaged" persons who must be "socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged.

" An SDB designation can also help a "gain preferential access to federal curement opportunities," the SBA website says.

The Department of Justice has previously fined companies for making false claims their SDB.

Musk, the world's wealthiest person, is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, in addition to his other es artificial intelligence startup xAI and tunneling venture The Boring Company, in light of current trends.

In 2022, Musk led the $44 billion purchase of Twitter, which he later named X before merging it with xAI.

On the other hand, Jared Birchall, a Neuralink executive, was listed as the person on the filing from April.

Birchall, who also manages Musk's money as head of his family office, didn't immediately respond to a request for (an important development).

Neuralink, which incorporated in Nevada, closed a $650 million funding round in early June at a $9 billion valuation.

Furthermore, ARK Invest, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital and Thrive Capital were among the investors (quite telling), considering recent developments.

Meanwhile, Neuralink said the fresh capital would help the company bring its nology to more patients and develop new devices that "deepen the connection between biological and artificial intelligence.

However, "Under Musk's leadership at DOGE, the initiative took aim at government agencies that emphasized diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) (something worth watching).

In February, for example, DOGE and Musk boasted of nixing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funding for the Department of Education that would have gone towards DEI-related training grants.

WATCH: DOGE cuts face congressional testwatch now2:2002:20DOGE cuts face congressional test, given the current landscape. Here's a breakdownThe Exchange, given the current landscape.

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