Altman's Merge Labs to Rival Neuralink in Brain-Computer Interface Race
The simmering rivalry between OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman and Tesla chief Elon Musk is set to intensify further with the emergence of Merge Labs, a new venture poised to challenge Musk’s Neuralink in the burgeoning field of brain-computer interfaces.
Sources with direct knowledge of the plans indicate that Merge Labs is actively raising new capital, targeting an $850 million valuation. A significant portion of this investment is expected to come from OpenAI’s ventures division, an initiative personally championed by Altman. While he will assume a co-founding role, Altman is not slated to manage the company’s daily operations. He will, however, help launch the project alongside Alex Blania, known for his work on Worldcoin, the iris-scanning digital identity project also backed by the OpenAI chief.
The venture’s evocative name, Merge Labs, draws from a concept widely discussed in Silicon Valley: “the merge,” a hypothetical future point where human consciousness and artificial intelligence seamlessly integrate. This is not a new fascination for Altman, who penned a detailed blog post on the subject in 2017, even speculating that such a convergence could occur as early as 2025. More recently, he reiterated his belief that “high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces” are on the horizon, fueled by rapid technological advancements. Merge Labs aims to secure approximately $250 million from OpenAI and other investors, though these discussions are still in their nascent stages, and Altman himself will not be a personal investor.
This new endeavor places Merge Labs in direct competition with Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company founded by Elon Musk in 2016. The rivalry between Altman and Musk has deep roots; both were instrumental in co-founding OpenAI. However, their collaboration ended acrimoniously in 2018 when Musk departed the board following significant disagreements with Altman, particularly concerning OpenAI’s strategic direction. Since then, their professional relationship has devolved into a fierce, public rivalry, notably in the pursuit of artificial intelligence. Musk launched his own AI startup, xAI, in 2023, and has even initiated legal proceedings against OpenAI, seeking to block its transition from a non-profit entity – an organization he initially helped fund with substantial capital.
Neuralink, a prominent player in the brain-computer interface landscape, recently secured $650 million in funding at an impressive $9 billion valuation, drawing investment from major firms like Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, and Vy Capital. Interestingly, Altman himself was an early investor in Neuralink. Beyond these two giants, the BCI sector is attracting considerable attention, with several other startups like Precision Neuroscience and Synchron also making strides.
While the concept of brain implants has existed for decades, recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, coupled with significant advancements in the electronic components used to capture and interpret neural signals, have dramatically enhanced their practical utility and potential applications.
Altman’s investment portfolio extends well beyond OpenAI, the ChatGPT creator now valued at a staggering $300 billion, reflecting his diverse interests in foundational technologies. In addition to co-founding Worldcoin, his investments include Oklo, a company focused on advanced nuclear fission, and Helion, a pioneering nuclear fusion project, underscoring his belief in transformative, long-term technological bets.
OpenAI declined to comment on the new venture, but its emergence signals a new, high-stakes chapter in the ongoing technological arms race between two of Silicon Valley’s most ambitious and competitive figures.