Altman's Merge Secures $252 Million to Connect Brains and Computers

The brain-computer interface laboratory develops non-invasive, AI-integrated neural hardware that competes with Neuralink and incites governance discussions.

PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Merge Labs emerges from stealth mode as Silicon Valley's latest fascination with brain-computer interfaces, supported by a $252 million USD seed funding round led by OpenAI, in conjunction with Bain Capital and Gabe Newell of Valve. The laboratory aims to integrate biological and artificial intelligence across several decades, initially focussing on medical applications before ultimately pursuing consumer-grade, daily interfaces.

Instead of pursuing Neuralink-style surgical implants, Merge Labs is investing in an alternative technology stack. The team is creating novel BCI architectures that engage neurones using molecules rather than electrodes and transmit data using deep-reaching ultrasound, all while circumventing implants in brain tissue. The long-term objective is to develop high-bandwidth, non-invasive neural interfaces that resemble consumer electronics rather than medical equipment.

OpenAI's investment beyond just financial contribution. The company has positioned BCIs as an essential subsequent interface layer that can enhance AI's naturalness and human-centricity, and it intends to provide Merge Labs with bespoke foundation models and AI operating systems optimised for interpreting erratic brain signals. In reality, this signifies that OpenAI's software trajectory and Merge's hardware aspirations are now intricately linked to the concept of cognitive-level engagement with AI.

The unveiling further intensifies the competitive narrative between Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Merge Labs occupies a similar frontier as Neuralink but is culturally more aligned with AI-native hardware than conventional medtech, immediately integrating into OpenAI's extensive initiative in chips, devices, and human enhancement. The substantial support from OpenAI for a firm co-founded by Altman has prompted further examination of governance, conflicts of interest, and ownership of the future's neural infrastructure.