On Thursday, OpenAI revealed its investment in Merge Labs, a neurotech startup co-founded by billionaire Sam Altman. OpenAI will team up with this new venture to create technologies aimed at connecting human brains to computers. Merge Labs has secured $252 million in funding from OpenAI, private equity firm Bain Capital, video game developer Gabe Newell, among others, to utilize ultrasound to read and modulate brain activity.
Merge adds to the growing list of companies working on brain-computer interfaces, including Elon Musk’s Neuralink. The name “Merge” is inspired by a concept in Silicon Valley known as “the merge,” which describes a point where human and machine intelligence blend into a hybrid consciousness, a topic Altman has discussed in his writings. Previously, Altman invested in Musk’s Neuralink, which has raised $1.3 billion.
Unlike Neuralink, Merge Labs emphasizes that it won’t implant devices in the brain. Their website states, “We’re developing entirely new technologies that connect with neurons using molecules instead of electrodes, transmit and receive information using deep-reaching modalities like ultrasound, and avoid implants into brain tissue.” Merge aims to create interfaces that combine biology, devices, and AI in a user-friendly format that’s accessible to many.
AI will be a significant component of Merge’s strategy. OpenAI notes, “High-bandwidth interfaces will benefit from AI operating systems that can interpret intent, adapt to individuals, and operate reliably with limited and noisy signals.” OpenAI will collaborate with Merge Labs to develop scientific foundation models and other advanced tools to expedite innovation.
Synchron, another player in the brain-computer interface space, has raised $345 million and is working alongside chipmaker Nvidia to create brain models. These AI models would utilize large datasets to develop more intuitive interfaces that can perform a wider range of tasks. Currently, brain-computer interfaces allow individuals with paralysis to control things like computer cursors and robotic limbs, but future advancements could enable even more complex functionalities with the help of AI.
Merge is a spinoff of the nonprofit Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles–based research organization established in 2023. Some co-founders of Merge are also connected to Forest, which will continue to operate as a nonprofit while collaborating with Merge. The directional focus of Merge may be teased by Forest’s interests in mental health disorders and brain injuries, with a miniaturized ultrasound device under early safety trials in the UK.
Most brain-computer interfaces, like those from Neuralink and Synchron, measure electrical activity directly from neurons. In contrast, Merge’s ultrasound-based device interprets neural activity indirectly by monitoring changes in blood flow in the brain. So far, at least 12 volunteers have received Neuralink implants, and 10 participants have undergone the Synchron procedure, which places a device in a blood vessel adjacent to the brain rather than directly within the brain tissue.
In addition to Altman, the co-founders of Merge Labs include researchers Mikhail Shapiro, Tyson Aflalo, and Sumner Norman, along with tech entrepreneurs Alex Blania and Sandro Herbig. The company is actively hiring for multiple positions.
