Sam Altman reportedly backing startup to rival Elon Musk’s Neuralink

Sam Altman

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is reportedly co-founding a new brain-computer interface startup named Merge Labs, with funding potentially coming from OpenAI’s ventures team, according to unnamed sources cited by the Financial Times. The startup is expected to be valued at approximately $850 million. However, TechCrunch reports that discussions are still in early stages and OpenAI has not yet confirmed its participation, leaving terms subject to change.

Merge Labs is said to be collaborating with Alex Blania, who leads Tools for Humanity — Altman’s earlier project focused on eye-scanning digital IDs intended to verify human identity.

The new venture will directly compete with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which has been developing implantable brain interface chips since its founding in 2016. Neuralink is currently conducting human trials with patients suffering from severe paralysis, aiming to enable device control through thought. The company recently raised $600 million in a Series E funding round, valuing it at $9 billion.

Both Neuralink and Merge Labs have the potential to transform human interaction with technology, contributing to the longstanding Silicon Valley fascination with “the singularity” — a term used by Musk to describe AI surpassing human intelligence, but originally meaning the merging of humans and technology.

Altman first discussed this concept in a 2017 blog post titled “The Merge,” predicting that humanity will eventually design its own descendants. At that time, Musk was still involved with OpenAI, which Altman references in his post.

Since Musk’s departure from OpenAI in 2018, the relationship between the two tech figures has become strained. This week, they exchanged public disagreements on X, with Altman accusing Musk of manipulating the platform and Musk calling Altman a liar.

No formal announcement has yet been made regarding Merge Labs. Given the significance of the brain-computer interface field, industry observers suggest Altman is positioning Merge Labs as a challenger to Musk’s Neuralink.

OpenAI declined to comment on the reports.