Amid the ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Sam Altman, OpenAI is reportedly laying the groundwork for a new brain-computer interface startup that could compete with Musk’s Neuralink. According to The Financial Times, the venture is called Merge Labs and is seeking funding at an estimated $850 million valuation. According to reports citing sources, OpenAI’s venture arm could be involved, but the talks are still in the early stages, with no concrete agreements made at this time.
The Merge Labs is expected to collaborate with Alex Blania, the head of Tools for Humanity, the company behind Altman’s contentious eye-scanning ID initiative. The technology aims to create seamless communication between the human brain and computers, an area in which Musk’s Neuralink has already made major strides. Musk’s Neuralink, on the other hand, is valued at $9 billion following a $600 million raise in June and is currently testing its impact on people with severe paralysis to help them control devices solely through thought.
Also read: Elon Musk accuses Apple of favoring OpenAI in App Store, says xAI will take legal action
If this is true, the move will undoubtedly be a new chapter in the increasingly public feud between Altman and Musk, who co-founded OpenAI before splitting up in 2018. In recent days, they have traded barbs on X, with Altman accusing Musk of algorithmic manipulation and Musk responding with accusations of dishonesty and Musk accusing Apple of favouring the ChatGPT app on its App Store rankings.
Altman has spoken for years about the possibility of humans “merging” with machines, which he believes is unavoidable as artificial intelligence advances. If Merge Labs becomes a reality, he may find himself in a race with Musk to see who can shape the future first.
In the meantime, Apple has denied the claims and stated that the App Store algorithms treat all the AI applications. This comes after Musk accused Apple of keeping the ChatGPT app in the must-have section while excluding Grok.