Upgrade Day

Chipping parties are the latest trend among Scandinavia’s tech community. Could these biohackers and transhumanists be coming to implant a workplace near you?

Words: Holly Young
Illustration: Lisa Tegtmeier

A typical “chipping party” follows a simple format, Swedish biohacker Hannes Sjöblad explains. It begins with an introductory talk about what it means to be chipped — Sjöblad is keen to ensure everyone is making an informed decision — then beers are served, guests chat and start lining up. A professional piercer is hired for the event to insert the microchips, around the size of a grain of rice, usually slipping them under the skin between thumb and index finger. Only a few seconds of pain, assures Sjöblad, and it’s over.

The chipping parties started small. The first, back in 2014, was no more than a garage party — Sjöblad, a few online friends and a piercer got together one night in Stockholm. Since these early days of struggling to amass more than 10 people in one room, interest has spread. “I’ve been invited to arrange implant parties on five continents, across 20 countries, for hundreds of people,” says Sjöblad. “I am just overwhelmed by the pent-up interest… thousands of people have been walking around just waiting to get an implant.”