Altman's Merge Labs to Rival Musk's Neuralink in Brain-Chip Race
The intensifying rivalry between tech titans Sam Altman and Elon Musk is reportedly poised to enter an entirely new, profoundly intimate frontier: the human mind. After years of competing over advanced artificial intelligence models, the two innovators may soon battle to establish dominance in the nascent field of brain-computer interfaces.
According to a report from The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is actively involved in co-founding a new brain-chip startup named Merge Labs. This venture is set to develop sophisticated brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), which function by implanting minuscule electrodes in or near the brain to interpret neural signals. The overarching aim of these devices is to empower individuals to control digital technologies directly with their thoughts.
Merge Labs is reportedly in the process of raising capital at a striking valuation of $850 million, with a substantial portion of the funding anticipated to originate from OpenAI’s dedicated Startup Fund. Altman is expected to launch the company alongside Alex Blania, who heads World ID, an eyeball-scanning digital identity startup that also benefits from OpenAI’s financial backing. While Altman will serve as a co-founder, he is not projected to be involved in the company’s day-to-day operational management.
This new endeavor will directly challenge Elon Musk’s established brain-chip enterprise, Neuralink. Altman is reportedly banking on the integration of advanced AI capabilities to provide Merge Labs’ chips with a competitive edge over existing solutions. OpenAI has not yet publicly commented on these reports.
The name “Merge Labs” itself appears to echo a concept Altman articulated in a 2017 personal blog post, where he introduced “the merge”—a speculated future point when humans and machines would seamlessly integrate. At the time, he observed that predictions for this transformative event ranged from as early as 2025 to as late as 2075, though he contended that the process had already begun through the subtle influence of social media algorithms on human thought and emotion. Altman mused in that post, “The merge can take a lot of forms: We could plug electrodes into our brains, or we could all just become really close friends with a chatbot.” He further added, “Although the merge has already begun, it’s going to get a lot weirder. We will be the first species ever to design our own descendants.” More recently, in another post this year, Altman alluded to a “Gentle Singularity,” suggesting that a breakthrough in “true high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces” could be imminent.
Musk’s Neuralink, founded in 2016, holds a significant head start in this burgeoning field. The company has already secured approvals from health regulators in several countries to commence clinical trials. To date, Neuralink has implanted chips in at least three patients suffering from spinal cord injuries or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Furthermore, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Neuralink breakthrough device designations for its technology aimed at assisting individuals with speech and vision impairments, signaling the potential for significant medical impact.
The current competitive dynamic between Altman and Musk is deeply rooted in their shared past. The two initially co-founded OpenAI, but Musk departed in 2018 following disagreements with Altman, a split that ignited their ongoing rivalry. Since then, Musk has launched xAI, a competing artificial intelligence startup, and has even pursued legal action to obstruct OpenAI’s transition into a for-profit entity. Just this week, their contentious relationship was again on public display as they exchanged sharp criticisms on social media platform X, debating OpenAI’s relationship with Apple and its prominent placement within the App Store. The reported emergence of Merge Labs thus marks a new, high-stakes chapter in this enduring technological and personal contest.