OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has launched a new venture, Merge Labs, focused on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). The company is building tools that could one day let people control computers with their thoughts, without any need for surgery. The project brings Altman into the same field as Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which is already testing implant-based devices in humans.
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A Different Approach
Merge Labs is taking a different route from Neuralink’s surgical model. The company is now working with Mikhail Shapiro, a leading engineer from the California Institute of Technology. His research uses ultrasound and gene therapy to help brain cells send and receive signals. Instead of placing metal electrodes inside the brain, the method changes how cells react to sound waves. This approach could make brain-computer links safer and easier to test in the long run. While the science is still early, Altman’s decision to involve Shapiro points to a serious plan to develop a non-invasive system.
Researchers are exploring ways to record brain activity without surgery, using sensors and ultrasound instead of metal implants.
Funding and Competition
Merge Labs is seeking around $250 million at a value of roughly $850 million. Most of the funding is expected to come from OpenAI’s own venture arm and other private investors. Altman will serve as co-founder, while Alex Blania, the chief executive of Tools for Humanity, will help lead daily operations.
Neuralink, owned by Elon Musk, has already raised $650 million at a $9 billion valuation and continues to test surgical implants in volunteers. Yet only a few human patients have received the device so far. Other firms, including Synchron and Precision Neuroscience, are also working on brain-computer systems, each trying to lower health risks and improve accuracy.
A Growing Field
Altman has said he prefers a solution that does not harm brain tissue. He believes that an interface based on ultrasound or magnetic waves could make the link between people and artificial intelligence more natural. Still, experts caution that no company has yet proven a safe, fast, and reliable way to turn thoughts into clear digital signals.
The brain-computer market is expanding as companies search for new ways to connect people and machines. For investors, Merge Labs joins a small but ambitious group of firms competing to define how this future will look. The field is promising, yet results may take years to arrive, and the risks remain high. For now, Merge Labs adds one more name to watch in the next stage of human-tech innovation.
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