Neuralink is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who alleges she was scratched by monkeys, including one alleged to have had the Herpes B virus.
As recently reported by Sarah McBride for Bloomberg, the claim stem from a former Neuralink employee, Lindsay Short, who says she was fired one day after informing the Elon Musk-founded company of her pregnancy. While the company is said in the suit to have told Short she was fired due to her performance while at work, Short alleges she was wrongfully terminated. Furthermore, Short has accused the neurotechnology company, based in Fremont, of retaliation and gender discrimination.
At one point, Short alleges, she was scratched through a glove by a monkey carrying the Herpes B virus. Short also alleges that she was scratched in the face by another monkey, an incident she says was met with a threat from her superior.
Complex has reached out to Neuralink for comment. This story may be updated.
This is far from the first Neuralink controversy to make headlines. In December 2022, it was reported that the company was the subject of a federal investigation in connection with animal testing concerns. Earlier that same year, Neuralink said in an official statement that animals were "respected and honored" by the company.
Neuralink’s focus is on the continued development of an effective brain-computer billed as being both "fully implantable" and "cosmetically invisible." Just last month, the FDA gave the company the go-ahead to place its much-discussed chip into another human brain.
