When the brain becomes the interface: Why India must prepare for the neurotechnology era
In January 2026, Anduril launched the AI Grand Prix challenge for autonomous drone racing, with a prize of $500,000 to one winner and a job at the company. The rules allow for software modifications and not human pilots or hardware modifications to fully autonomous drones built by Neros Technologies, an American manufacturer of small unmanned aerial systems. One team brought something outside the rule book: a biological computer built from cultured mouse brain cells, wired to control their drone.
- ▪In January 2026, Anduril launched the AI Grand Prix challenge for autonomous drone racing, with a prize of $500,000 to one winner and a job at the company.
- ▪The rules allow for software modifications and not human pilots or hardware modifications to fully autonomous drones built by Neros Technologies, an American manufacturer of small unmanned aerial systems.
- ▪One team brought something outside the rule book: a biological computer built from cultured mouse brain cells, wired to control their drone.
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In January 2026, Anduril launched the AI Grand Prix challenge for autonomous drone racing, with a prize of $500,000 to one winner and a job at the company. The rules allow for software modifications and not human pilots or hardware modifications to fully autonomous drones built by Neros Technologies, an American manufacturer of small unmanned aerial systems. One team brought something outside the rule book: a biological computer built from cultured mouse brain cells, wired to control their drone. Anduril founder Palmer Luckey wrote on X: “At first look, this seems against the spirit of the software-only rules. On second thought, hell yeah.” That moment —living neural tissue piloting a machine — is not a stunt.
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