Sam Altman Reportedly Launch Rival Brain-Chip Startup to Compete With Musk's Neuralink

The rivalry between Sam Altman and Elon Musk is about to get weirder.

Until now, the two have been fighting over whose company has the most advanced AI models. But soon, they could be battling to prove who makes the best brain chip implants.

The Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources, that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is working on co-founding a new brain chip startup called Merge Labs. The company will develop what is known as a brain-computer interface (BCI). BCIs work by implanting tiny electrodes that can read neural signals in or near the brain. The primary goal of these devices is to allow humans to control digital devices with their thoughts.

Merge Labs is reportedly raising funds at a valuation of $850 million, with most of the funding expected to come from OpenAI’s Startup Fund, according to the Financial Times. Altman will help launch the company alongside Alex Blania, head of World ID, an eyeball-scanning digital ID startup also backed by OpenAI. While Altman will be a co-founder, he is not expected to be involved in its day-to-day operations.

The new venture will go head-to-head with Elon Musk’s brain chip startup Neuralink. Altman is reportedly betting that AI can give his chips an edge over existing competitors.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo.

The company’s name appears to trace back to a 2017 post on Altman’s personal blog. In it, he described “the merge,” the year when humans and machines would merge into one. At the time, he noted that most predictions for this moment ranged from as early as 2025 to as late as 2075, but he argued it had already started with social media algorithms influencing how people think and feel.

“The merge can take a lot of forms: We could plug electrodes into our brains, or we could all just become really close friends with a chatbot,” Altman wrote.

He added, “Although the merge has already begun, it’s going to get a lot weirder. We will be the first species ever to design our own descendants.”

This year, in another post, Altman wrote about a “Gentle Singularity,” suggesting that a breakthrough in “true high-bandwidth brain-computer interfaces” could be just over the horizon.

Musk’s Neuralink has a head start. Founded in 2016, it has already received approvals from health regulators in multiple countries to begin clinical trials. The company has implanted chips in at least three patients with spinal cord injuries or ALS. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has even granted the company breakthrough device designations for its tech aimed at helping people with speech and vision impairments.

Musk and Altman co-founded OpenAI, but Musk left in 2018 after clashes with Altman ignited a rivalry between the two. Musk has since launched a competing AI startup, xAI, and sued to block OpenAI’s efforts to become a for-profit company.

Just this week, the two shot barbs back and forth on X over OpenAI’s relationship with Apple and its prominent placement in the App Store.