OpenAI is investing in new brain technology fusion labs created by Sam Altman

OpenAI on Thursday announced its investment in neurotech startup Merge Labs, co-founded by billionaire CEO Sam Altman. OpenAI will collaborate with the new project to develop technology to connect people’s brains to computers.

Merge Labs has raised $252 million in funding from OpenAI, private equity firm Bain Capital, video game developer Gabe Newell, and others to use ultrasound to read and modify the brain.

Merge joins a growing number of companies, including Elon Musk’s Neuralink, that are developing brain-computer interface technology. Its name comes from the Silicon Valley concept of “fusion,” the hypothetical point at which human and machine intelligence combine to form hybrid consciousness, which Altman wrote about. Altman previously invested in Musk’s company Neuralink, which raised $1.3 billion.

Unlike Neuralink, Merge says it will not implant its technology in the brain. “We are developing completely new technologies that connect to neurons using molecules instead of electrodes, transmit and receive information using long-range methods such as ultrasound, and avoid implants in brain tissue,” the company says on its website. Merge envisions interfaces that are “equal parts biology, machine, and AI in a form factor that we ourselves want to use and is widely accessible.”

Artificial intelligence will play a key role in Merge’s approach. “High-bandwidth interfaces will benefit from AI operating systems that can interpret intentions, adapt to individuals, and operate reliably with limited, noisy signals,” according to the announcement from OpenAI. “OpenAI will collaborate with Merge Labs on scientific basis models and other pioneering tools to accelerate progress.”

Synchron, another brain-computer interface startup that has raised $345 million to date, is working with chipmaker Nvidia to develop basic models of the brain. The idea is that these AI models will learn from large amounts of brain data to create more intuitive interfaces with a greater range of capabilities. Currently, brain-computer interfaces allow paralyzed individuals to do things like move computer cursors and robotic arms, but in the future these systems may be able to perform more complex tasks with the help of artificial intelligence.

Merge is a spin-off of Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles-based non-profit research organization founded in 2023, and several of Merge’s founders also belong to Forest, a relationship that WIRED first reported in December. Forest will continue as a nonprofit entity while also collaborating with Merge, according to a blog post from its parent organization.

Merge hasn’t specified what applications it will pursue, but Forrest’s interest in mental health disorders and brain injury may provide some clues about the company’s initial direction. The mini-ultrasound device developed by Forrest is being studied in an early safety trial in the UK.

Most brain-computer interfaces, including those found in Neuralink and Synchron, measure electrical activity directly from neurons. Meanwhile, an ultrasound-based device indirectly interprets neural activity by detecting changes in blood flow in the brain. At least 12 volunteers have received the Neuralink implant so far, while 10 participants received the Synchron device, which is implanted in a blood vessel next to the brain rather than in the brain tissue itself.

In addition to Altman, Merge Labs founders include researchers Michael Shapiro, Tyson Avalo, and Sumner Norman, as well as technology entrepreneurs Alex Plania and Sandro Herbig. The company is hiring for a number of positions.