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With AI competition intensifying, tech rivalry has escalated beyond strategy differences to personal attacks. This week saw a particularly acrimonious exchange between OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman and X’s CEO Elon Musk. Amidst this conflict, Altman is pivoting towards a bold new venture with Merge Labs, a brain–computer interface (BCI) startup that directly competes with Musk’s Neuralink.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is not slowing down in his bid to establish himself as a tech leader. He has now entered the BCI race through Merge Labs, which he co-founded with Alex Blania, the lead developer of the iris-scanning digital ID project Worldcoin. Multiple reports suggest that Merge Labs is already valued at approximately $850 million and plans to raise an additional $250 million, with a significant portion coming from OpenAI’s venture arm.
Altman’s goal is to integrate human cognition with artificial intelligence, an idea he predicted back in 2017. He envisions this happening by 2025. Merge Labs will focus on high-bandwidth BCIs but aims for more widely scalable and less invasive methods than Neuralink. The startup plans to develop brain–machine links that are both responsive and quicker, with applications beyond medical use.
Neuralink holds a significant advantage as it is already conducting human trials and has a $9 billion valuation. It raised around $650 million this year alone, achieving a major milestone by enabling a patient with a brain implant to control a cursor with their thoughts in 2024. The rivalry between the two companies extends beyond AI, adding another layer of intrigue as BCI development races could accelerate further.
Merge Labs should proceed with caution, given that such innovations often raise ethical concerns, and the success of human–machine integration is not solely dependent on technical breakthroughs.
