Where Sam Altman’s Merge Labs Could Fit in the Brain-Computer Interface Race

OpenAI’s co-founder launches a neurotechnology venture set to compete with Neuralink.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is in the process of co-founding Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup that aims to challenge Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Reported by the Financial Times, the company is valued at around $850 million and is seeking $250 million in initial funding, with a significant portion expected from OpenAI’s venture arm. Altman will not be involved in day-to-day operations, taking instead a strategic role alongside co-founder Alex Blania, best known for his work on biometric identity platform Worldcoin.

Merge Labs has not yet released technical specifications or a development roadmap, but sources familiar with the project suggest it will pursue implantable brain-computer interfaces with higher data throughput than current systems. The hardware is expected to be paired closely with machine learning models for neural signal decoding, potentially leveraging OpenAI’s expertise in large-scale AI. Altman has previously described BCIs as a means to integrate human cognition more directly with artificial intelligence, suggesting ambitions that may extend beyond clinical applications into enhancement and consumer use.

What we know about Altman’s Merge Labs

Blania brings experience from Tools for Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, which has built one of the world’s largest biometric datasets through mass-scale iris scanning. Alongside the data, the project developed custom hardware, secure storage systems, and privacy-preserving identity protocols. While there is no indication that Merge Labs will directly use Worldcoin’s data, this expertise in managing sensitive, high-dimensional biological information at scale could inform secure neural data infrastructure.

This background also provides capabilities uncommon in neurotechnology: rapid hardware deployment, large-scale user onboarding, and integration of cryptographic identity systems. Combined with substantial early funding, these assets could position Merge to move from research into broad application faster than most competitors, potentially targeting consumer-grade products in parallel with clinical development. At this stage, however, the company remains in the conceptual phase, with no disclosed trials or published performance data.

OpenAI's Sam Altman (source: Getty Images)

The BCI landscape and competition

The BCI sector is led by a few well-funded firms, each with distinct strategies. Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk in 2016, has raised over $1.18 billion after the latest Series E round, at a valuation near $9 billion, and began human trials in 2024. Its implant uses penetrating electrodes for high-resolution recording, with a current focus on paralysis treatment and longer-term consumer use.

Synchron, based in New York, uses an endovascular approach delivered via blood vessels, avoiding open-brain surgery. It has run human trials since 2021 and is backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Precision Neuroscience is developing a thin surface electrode array that does not penetrate tissue; it has FDA clearance for some procedures, has raised over $150 million, and has already implanted devices in humans. Paradromics in Texas is working on high-channel-count implants for speech restoration and other medical uses, with over $100 million in funding. Other notable players include Blackrock Neurotech in Utah, Cortec Neuro in Germany, and Chinese ventures such as NeuCyber NeuroTech and MicroPort NeuroScientific.

Merge Labs would enter this field with more capital at launch than most competitors raised in their first years. This funding advantage could enable aggressive recruitment, simultaneous hardware and software development, and the pursuit of both medical and enhancement applications. The integration of advanced AI into neural decoding from the outset may offer a technical differentiator, particularly if paired with secure identity and data systems drawn from Blania’s experience.

Fact box: The major BCI companies

Company	Approach	Stage	Funding
Neuralink	Fully implantable, penetrating electrodes	Human trials since 2024	$1.18b funding
Synchron	Endovascular via blood vessels	Human trials since 2021	$145m funding
Precision Neuroscience	Non-penetrating surface electrode array	Early human use, FDA clearance	$155m funding
Paradromics	High-channel-count implant	Pre-human trials	±$100m funding
Blackrock Neurotech	Longstanding implantable BCI developer	FDA IDE approvals	$200m strategic funding
CorTec	Implantable BCIs	Pre-clinical	±$22m venture funding
NeuCyber NeuroTech & MicroPort NeuroScientific	Implantable & semi-invasive BCIs	Early clinical	State-backed; undisclosed

Outlook

Merge Labs’ entry into the BCI market introduces a new competitor with the resources, connections, and public profile to influence industry dynamics from its earliest stages. While its technical approach remains undisclosed, the combination of early funding, AI expertise, and large-scale biometric systems experience gives it the potential to shape both product direction and market expectations. Its progress will be closely watched, both for the technologies it develops and for how it positions itself in the balance between clinical impact, consumer applications, and the governance of neural data.