Sam Altman reportedly plans brain chip startup to rival Elon Musk

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is reportedly planning to launch a brain-chip startup called Merge Labs to compete directly with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, according to a Financial Times report. Merge Labs aims to develop advanced brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that merge humans and machines through artificial intelligence. Valued at $850 million, the startup seeks to raise $250 million in funding, primarily from OpenAI’s ventures team. Altman is expected to co-found the company alongside Alex Blania, CEO of Worldcoin, another OpenAI-backed firm, though Altman himself will not be a personal investor. The initiative is still in early stages, and OpenAI has not finalized its commitment. Neuralink, founded in 2016, currently leads the implantable BCI market and has already begun human trials, notably helping ALS patient Bradford G. Smith communicate via thought-controlled computer cursors. Musk plans to scale Neuralink’s implants to 20,000 people annually by 2031