The two companies are Elon Musk's Neuralink and Mary Lou Jepsen's Openwater red light scanner. The Neuralink and Openwater systems will be described after the DARPA project and its goals.

The DARPA Next-Generation Non-Surgical Neurotechnology (N3) program aims to develop a high resolution neural interface that does not require surgery. While previous DARPA programs have developed neural interfaces intended to restore function to the wounded warrior, the N3 program will broaden the applicability of neural interfaces to the able-bodied warfighter.

Notional N3 prototype. 1A – Nanotransducers supporting read and write functions (for TA2 devices only). 1B right – Notional concept of at least two subcomponents integrated into one device. 1B left – notional diagram of multiple devices used to achieve multi-focal interaction with the brain. 1C – Processing unit for decoding and encoding computation between the N3 system and relevant DoD application.