Thursday, OpenAI announced its investment in neurotech startup Merge Labs, founded by its CEO, billionaire Sam Altman. OpenAI will partner with a new venture to develop technology to connect human brains with 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 study and measure the brain.
Merge joins a growing number of companies, including Elon Musk’s Neuralink, developing brain-computer interaction technology. Its name comes from the Silicon Valley concept of “convergence,” the conceptual point where humans and machine intelligence meet to create a hybrid consciousness, which Altman wrote about. Altman previously invested in Musk’s Neuralink, which has raised $1.3 billion to date.
Unlike Neuralink, Merge says it won’t implant its technology into the brain. “We are developing a completely new technology that connects to neurons using molecules instead of electrodes, transmits and receives information using methods that reach depth like ultrasound, and avoid brain tissue implantation,” the company said on its website. Merge envisions connections that are “equal parts biology, device, and AI in a way that we ourselves want to use and that is widely accessible.”
AI will play a big role in Merge’s approach. “A high-bandwidth interface will benefit from AI applications that can interpret intent, adapt to each individual, and operate reliably with limited and noisy signals,” according to an announcement from OpenAI. “OpenAI will collaborate with Merge Labs on basic science models and other frontier tools to accelerate progress.”
Synchron, another brain-computer interface startup, which has raised $345 million to date, is working with chip maker 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 accurate connections with a wide range of abilities. Currently, brain-computer interfaces allow people with disabilities to do things like move computer pointers and robotic arms, but in the future, these systems may be able to perform complex tasks with the help of AI.
Merge is a spinoff of the nonprofit Forest Neurotech, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit research organization founded in 2023, and many of Merge’s founders are also affiliated with Forest, a relationship WIRED first reported on in December. Forest will continue as a non-profit organization while also working with the Merger, according to a blog post from its parent organization.
Merge has yet to specify which applications it will pursue, but Forest’s interest in mental health disorders and brain injuries may provide clues about the company’s initial approach. A miniaturized ultrasound machine developed by Forest is currently being studied in the first safety trial in the UK.
Most brain-computer interfaces, including those from Neuralink and Synchron, measure electrical activity in neurons directly. An ultrasound-based device, on the other hand, interprets nerve activity indirectly by detecting changes in cerebral blood flow. At least 12 volunteers have received Neuralink implants so far, while 10 participants have received the Synchron device, which is implanted in blood vessels near the brain rather than the brain tissue itself.
In addition to Altman, the founders of Merge Labs include researchers Mikhail Shapiro, Tyson Aflalo, and Sumner Norman, and technology entrepreneurs Alex Blania and Sandro Herbig. The company is hiring for many positions.
