Sam Altman prepares to back Merger Labs—potential rival to Musk's Neuralink

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OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman is preparing to back a new brain-computer interface startup called Merge Labs that could be a possible rival to Elon Musk's Neuralink, the _Financial Times_ reported, citing people with direct knowledge.

Merge Labs is in the process of raising approximately $250 million in funding, aiming for a valuation of about $850 million. A substantial portion of this funding is expected to come from OpenAI’s ventures team, although Altman himself is not contributing personal funds and will not participate in the company's daily operations, the report added [https://www.ft.com/content/04484164-724e-4fc2-92a2-e2c13ea639bd].

Altman will launch the project alongside Alex Blania, who runs World, an eyeball-scanning digital ID project also backed by the OpenAI chief.

Merge Labs plans to develop advanced neural implants designed to integrate human cognition with AI—positioning it as a direct competitor to Neuralink—which has been working on brain-implanted chips to enable people to control devices using their thoughts.

The anticipated rivalry between Merge Labs and Neuralink would likely sharpen rough edges between Altman and Musk, who co-founded OpenAI but became rivals after Musk departed in 2018.

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