Sam Altman invests $250 million in Merge Labs — a competitor to Neuralink

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is investing in Merge Labs, a startup developing brain-computer interfaces and openly aiming to compete with Elon Musk's Neuralink. Merge Labs has raised $250 million at a valuation of $850 million, with a significant portion of the funding provided by OpenAI's venture arm.

Merge Labs was co-founded by Sam Altman and Alex Blania, known for the Worldcoin digital identity project. The raised funds will be directed toward in-depth research, clinical trials, and preparing the technology for commercial launch. The race for leadership in BCI could become the defining technological battle of the decade, and the involvement of Musk and Altman draws even more attention to it.

Neuralink, Merge Labs' main competitor, was founded by Musk in 2016 and recently raised $650 million at a valuation of approximately $9 billion.

Source: Financial Times