- Sam Altman is reportedly co-founding Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface company
- Merge Labs may launch with an $850 million valuation
- It would compete directly with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which is in human trials
- Altman is partnering with Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, is reportedly targeting one of the most ambitious fields in technology: brain-computer interfaces. According to sources familiar with the matter, Altman is in the early stages of launching a new company called Merge Labs.
The startup’s mission would be to develop direct links between the human brain and digital systems, a pursuit often described as part of humanity’s path toward “the singularity.”
Discussions are already underway to raise funding, with a significant portion potentially coming from OpenAI’s venture capital arm. However, insiders say nothing is finalized, and the terms could still change. If the plan goes ahead, Merge Labs could launch with a valuation close to $850 million.
Partnership With Tools for Humanity
Altman is not entering this space alone. Reports indicate that Merge Labs will collaborate with Alex Blania, the CEO of Tools for Humanity. That company is best known for its controversial Worldcoin project, which uses iris scanning to create a digital ID designed to prove a person’s “humanness” online.
Blania’s involvement suggests Merge Labs might approach the brain-computer interface challenge from both a technical and identity-verification perspective, a combination that could be particularly relevant in a future where human and machine intelligence are more deeply intertwined.
Taking On Neuralink
Merge Labs would be stepping directly into competition with Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-interface company founded in 2016. Neuralink has been working on implantable chips designed to help people with severe paralysis control devices purely through thought.
The company has recently made headlines for beginning human trials and for raising $600 million in its latest funding round, which pushed its valuation to $9 billion.
Neuralink’s long-term vision, like Altman’s, goes well beyond medical applications. Musk has spoken repeatedly about merging human and machine intelligence to keep pace with rapidly advancing AI. This vision aligns closely with the ideas Altman has expressed in the past.
Altman’s Longtime Fascination With “The Merge”
Altman’s interest in this field isn’t new. In 2017, while Musk was still a co-founder of OpenAI, Altman published a blog post titled “The Merge.”
In it, he argued that humans were already starting to merge with their technology, predicting that the process would accelerate in strange and unprecedented ways. “We will be the first species ever to design our own descendants,” he wrote at the time.
That shared interest may have once connected Altman and Musk, but the relationship between the two has since deteriorated. Musk left OpenAI in 2018, and in the years since, the two have frequently clashed in public.
Rivalry Spills Into Public
The rivalry was on display again just this week, when Altman accused Musk of manipulating the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Musk responded by calling Altman a liar, further underscoring the competitive and often personal nature of their disputes.
If reports about Merge Labs prove true, Altman’s entry into brain-computer technology would be more than just another startup launch, it would mark the start of a direct competition between two of the tech industry’s most outspoken and influential leaders.
OpenAI has declined to comment on the reports.
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