What is Merge Labs? The New Brain-Computer Startup Backed by OpenAI Challenging Elon Musk’s Neuralink

After giving tough competition to Elon Musk in the AI chatbot domain, Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, is now preparing to challenge the Tesla CEO on another frontier. OpenAI is reportedly joining one of Silicon Valley’s most ambitious projects in brain-computer interfaces—with a new company called Merge Labs. Despite being in the very early stages, the startup already has an $850M valuation.

The majority of the funding is set to come from OpenAI’s own ventures arm; however, investment terms have yet to be finalized. Reports suggest that Altman is working together with Alex Blania, the president of Tools for Humanity, a firm famous for its use of orb-shaped eye scanners in verifying on the landing page if someone is human. Merge Labs is expected to develop advanced neural interface systems that may soon allow humans to interact with machines based on their thoughts.

The move potentially sets Altman against Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which has been working on brain implants for years. The ultimate goal of the Neuralink technology is for people with severe paralysis to be able to control devices using only their minds. The $9 billion company, which is already in the midst of human trials and recently raised $600 million.

Brain-computer technology is considered to be the biggest scientific breakthrough by many experts. It is able to bring human brains into a dynamic relationship with artificial intelligence. Others think it could accelerate advancement to the so-called “singularity,” when human and machine together form a single super-intelligence. Altman has been advocating this idea for years. His enthusiasm for these changes also showed his far-reaching view of such possibilities when, in 2017, he wrote that humans may soon be able to design the future generations.

The timing of Merge Labs’ arrival adds another wrinkle to the Altman–Musk rivalry. The two have sparred regularly since Musk stepped away from OpenAI in 2018, and their disagreements have come to a head again in the past week. This week, they sparred in legal filings as Musk takes Altman to court for allegedly diverting OpenAI from its original non-profit mission.

Even amidst the tension, both tech leaders are plowing forward with even more ambitious projects—Musk with Neuralink and his AI venture xAI, and Altman with Merge Labs. Their visions in conflict have the potential to determine one of the most staggering technological transformations in the annals of humanity.