OpenAI on Thursday announced an investment in the neurotechnology start-up Merge Labs, co-founded by its CEO, billionaire Sam Altman. OpenAI will work with the modern venture to develop technology to connect human brains with computers.
Merge Labs has raised $252 million from OpenAI, private investment firm Bain Capital, video game developer Gabe Newell and others to employ ultrasound to read and modulate 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 the “merge,” a hypothetical point at which humans and machine intelligence merge to create a hybrid consciousness that Altman described as written o. Altman previously invested in Musk’s Neuralink, which raised $1.3 billion.
Unlike Neuralink, Merge says it won’t implant its technology into the brain. “We are developing entirely new technologies that connect neurons using molecules instead of electrodes, transmit and receive information using deep-reaching methods such as ultrasound, and avoid implants in brain tissue,” the company says – we read on our website. Merge envisions interfaces that include “equal parts biology, device, and artificial intelligence in a form we want to use and that is universally accessible.”
Artificial intelligence will play a central role in the Merge approach. “High-bandwidth interfaces will benefit from AI operating systems that can interpret intent, adapt to individual needs, and operate reliably in limited and noisy signals,” according to the OpenAI announcement. “OpenAI will work with Merge Labs on fundamental science 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 brain models. The idea is that these AI models would learn from vast amounts of brain data to create interfaces that are more intuitive and offer a greater range of possibilities. Currently, brain-computer interfaces enable paralyzed people to perform tasks such as moving computer cursors and robotic arms, but in the future these systems may be able to perform more elaborate tasks using artificial intelligence.
Merge is a spinoff from Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit research organization formed in 2023, and several of Merge’s co-founders are also affiliated with Forest, WIRED first reported in December. According to a. Forest will continue to be a non-profit organization while working with Merge blog post from its parent organization.
Merge hasn’t specified what applications it will pursue, but Forest’s interest in mental health disorders and brain damage could provide clues as to the company’s initial direction. A miniaturized ultrasonic device developed by Forest is being investigated as part of early safety trials in the UK.
Most brain-computer interfaces, including those from Neuralink and Synchron, measure electrical activity directly from neurons. Meanwhile, an ultrasound device indirectly interprets neuronal activity by detecting changes in blood flow in the brain. At least 12 volunteers have so far received the Neuralink implant, and 10 participants have received the Synchron device, which is implanted in a blood vessel next to the brain rather than the brain tissue itself.
In addition to Altman, Merge Labs co-founders include researchers Mikhail Shapiro, Tyson Aflalo and Sumner Norman, as well as tech entrepreneurs Alex Blania and Sandro Herbig. The company is hiring for a position number of positions.