The next big step for Neuralink will be clinical trials in humans of its device, which so far has been shown off in pigs and a Pong-playing monkey.

It has yet to announce human trials, although one of its rivals, Synchron, announced early trials for its own brain-computer interface just this week.

Seven months in, 2021 has already become a record year in brain-computer interface funding. A few days ago, Paradromics said it had raised $20 million. Excluding that round and the latest Neuralink funding, brain-computer interface companies had raised $132.8 million this year. All told, including the latest funding rounds, 2021 has already tripled the $97 million raised in all of last year, according to PitchBook data.

Neuralink first registered as a California company in 2016, although Musk didn’t discuss the company publicly until the following year.

Vy Capital was founded by Alexander Tamas, a former partner at DST, the investment firm founded by billionaire Yuri Milner. Other investors in the Neuralink round include Alphabet Inc.’s GV, Founders Fund and Craft Ventures.