Sam Altman, OpenAI Back Startup Rivaling Elon Musk's Neuralink

According to unnamed sources speaking with the Financial Times, Sam Altman is co-founding a new brain-computer interface startup named Merge Labs and is currently fundraising, with significant capital potentially coming from OpenAI's ventures team.

The startup is reportedly targeting an $850 million valuation. A source familiar with the discussions informed TechCrunch that negotiations are still in early stages, and OpenAI has not formally committed to participate, meaning the terms could still shift.

Merge Labs is also said to be collaborating with Alex Blania, the CEO of Tools for Humanity (formerly Worldcoin) — Altman's eye-scanning digital identity initiative designed to "allow anyone to verify their humanity," according to the company's description.

Merge Labs will enter into direct competition with Elon Musk's Neuralink, a company developing implantable brain-computer interface chips. Musk established Neuralink in 2016 (though it remained undisclosed until 2017), and the firm has since achieved significant milestones.

Neuralink is currently conducting trials with individuals experiencing severe paralysis. The technology's goal is to enable patients to operate external devices using their thoughts. The company secured a $600 million Series E funding round in June, valuing it at $9 billion.

Neuralink, and potentially Merge Labs, could fundamentally transform human-technology interaction. Some observers suggest this technology might even guide humanity toward "the singularity."

Long before Silicon Valley's current obsession with artificial general intelligence (AGI), the concept of "the singularity" captivated the tech industry. Musk has used this term to describe the hypothetical moment when artificial intelligence surpasses human cognitive abilities. The more traditional definition, inspired by Dino Buzzati's 1960s novella of the same name, refers to the merging of technology with human biology.

Altman explored "The Merge" concept in a 2017 blog post. "While the merge is already underway, it's destined to become far more unconventional. We will be the first species to intentionally design our own evolutionary successors," he speculated, referencing research he observed at OpenAI, where Musk was still a co-founder at the time.

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Musk departed from OpenAI in 2018, and the relationship between the two prominent tech figures has since deteriorated. Just this week, Altman and Musk engaged in a public disagreement on X after Altman alleged Musk was manipulating the platform, prompting Musk to label Altman a liar.

The formal announcement of Merge Labs remains uncertain, both in timing and occurrence. However, it's reasonable to assume Altman had no intention of allowing Musk to pursue a project as consequential as the singularity without facing competition.

OpenAI declined to comment.