OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman is poised to co-found a new startup called Merge Labs, which aims to develop advanced brain-computer interface technology.
This venture is expected to compete directly with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, focusing on creating less invasive neural implants that connect the human brain to computers by harnessing artificial intelligence.
Merge Labs is currently in the process of raising approximately $250 million, with an estimated valuation near $850 million. Much of this funding could come from OpenAI’s venture investment team, though discussions remain in their early stages and details might evolve.
Merge Labs is collaborating with Alex Blania, who heads Tools for Humanity (formerly World), another project supported by Altman that uses eye-scanning digital ID technology to verify human identity. Unlike Neuralink, which involves surgically implanting chips into the brain, Merge Labs seeks to enhance brain-computer interfaces through AI-driven approaches that may be less invasive.
Elon Musk launched Neuralink in 2016, and the company has since made substantial progress, including clinical trials on individuals with severe paralysis, aiming to enable them to control devices solely through thought.
Neuralink recently completed a $650 million funding round, bringing its valuation to around $9 billion, and remains a leader in the neurotechnology field. Although Altman and Musk were once collaborators at OpenAI, their relationship has become competitive, especially following Musk’s departure from OpenAI’s board in 2018 and the rise of Musk’s AI startup xAI.
The underlying concept behind both Merge Labs and Neuralink is often referred to in Silicon Valley as “the merge”—the integration of human cognition with machine intelligence. Altman has discussed this vision publicly since 2017, anticipating that high-bandwidth brain-computer connections could be realised within the near future, potentially by 2025, driven by advances in artificial intelligence and neural signal decoding.
Recent breakthroughs have already demonstrated the capacity to translate brain signals into speech and enable precise brain-controlled robotics, suggesting that future interaction with technology will become more seamless and intuitive.