Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk expects his brain-chip startup Neuralink to start its first human trial this year, he said on Friday in France.

Speaking at the VivaTech event in Paris, co-founder Musk said Neuralink plans to implant a tetraplegic or paraplegic patient during a webcast monitored by Reuters. While Musk didn't specify how many patients his company would implant or for how long, "it's looking like the first case will be later this year," said Musk, who is also CEO of electric carmaker Tesla, social media platform Twitter and the SpaceX rocket launch company.

Last month, Neuralink said it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its first-in-human clinical trial, a critical milestone for the startup as it faces U.S. probes over its handling of animal experiments. In an earlier statement to Reuters, the FDA acknowledged that the agency cleared Neuralink to use its brain implant and surgical robot for trials but declined to provide more details.

If Neuralink can prove its device is safe in humans, it would still take several years, potentially more than a decade, for the startup to secure commercial use clearance, experts earlier told Reuters. The company is also competing with other neurotech companies which have already implanted their devices in people.

Musk has missed timelines on his public pronouncements about Neuralink before, however. On at least four occasions since 2019, Musk predicted that Neuralink would soon start human trials.

The company, founded in 2016, first sought permission from the FDA in early 2022, but the agency rejected the application, citing dozens of safety concerns. Some of the issues involved the device's lithium battery, the possibility of the implant's wires migrating within the brain, and the challenge of safely extracting the device without damaging brain tissue.

Neuralink also faces federal scrutiny following Reuters reports about its animal experiments.

(With input from Reuters)