Sam Altman, the OpenAI co-founder valued at the center of artificial intelligence's rapid ascent, is preparing a challenge to Elon Musk in the high-stakes brain-computer interface market. Altman is co-founding a new venture, Merge Labs, alongside Alex Blania, the chief executive of World, an iris-scanning digital ID project also backed by Altman.
The Financial Times reports that Merge Labs is seeking $250 million in funding from OpenAI's venture arm and other investors, with the company already valued at $850 million. Sources told the outlet that while Altman will serve as a co-founder, he will not hold a daily operational role in the business.
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Merge Labs Enters the Brain-Computer Interface Race
Merge Labs takes its name from a popular concept in Silicon Valley: "the merge," a theoretical moment when humans and machines combine into a single form of consciousness, FT says. Altman has publicly explored the idea, writing in a 2017 blog post that such an event could arrive as early as 2025. In a recent blog post, he suggested that high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces could soon be possible due to advances in AI and electronic components.
"Many people will choose to live their lives in much the same way, but at least some people will probably decide to ‘plug in,'" Altman added.
The new company will join an increasingly competitive brain-implant sector led by Musk's Neuralink, which aims to connect human brains directly to computers. According to FT, Neuralink recently secured $650 million in Series E funding at a $9 billion valuation, backed by Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, and Vy Capital. The company is conducting human clinical trials to test a device that could help individuals with mobility impairments control devices with their thoughts.
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Altman and Musk's Feud Expands to New Frontiers
Altman and Musk co-founded OpenAI, but Musk left its board in 2018 after strategic disagreements. Since then, FT says the two have become direct competitors in AI and now brain-computer technology. Musk launched xAI in 2023 and has been engaged in legal disputes to challenge OpenAI's restructuring from a nonprofit.
The rivalry has spilled over into public exchanges. Musk recently accused OpenAI and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) of conspiring to keep ChatGPT at the top of the App Store rankings, saying on X that xAI would take "immediate legal action" against Apple for alleged antitrust behavior. Altman countered with allegations that Musk manipulates X to "benefit himself and his own companies and harm his competitors and people he doesn't like."
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Altman's track record in investing extends beyond AI. In addition to World, FT reports he has backed nuclear power supply startup Oklo and nuclear fusion venture Helion. OpenAI, valued at $300 billion, has been active in funding other AI-driven companies through its ventures team.
If the funding round for Merge Labs is completed, it would create another high-profile battleground between two of the technology industry's most influential figures. The outcome may help determine the pace at which brain-computer interfaces move from speculative vision to widely adopted reality.
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