The post Sam Altman backs Merge Labs to develop brain-computer interfaces competing with Elon Musk’s Neuralink appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

The rivalry between Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Tesla’s Elon Musk has taken on a new dimension as Altman is named a co-founder and supporter of Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup meant to compete with Musk’s Neuralink.  According to reports, OpenAI’s venture arm is set to invest significantly in Merge Labs, which has its sights set on raising $250 million at an $850 million valuation. OpenAI will invest millions in Merge Labs Merge Labs, co-founded with Alex Blania (CEO of World, yet another Altman-backed venture), will focus on the development of high-bandwidth brain implants to integrate human cognition with AI. The mission sounds familiar because Musk’s Neuralink is also supposed to connect human brains with computers. According to the Financial Times, Altman’s role in the venture will be limited. While he bears the title of co-founder, he is not expected to have a day-to-day role in the new project. However, that could change, the same way OpenAI is changing today. Merge wants to take advantage of recent advances in artificial intelligence to create more useful brain-computer interfaces. Its name was reportedly derived from what they describe as “the merge,” a moment when humans and machines come together. Fresh drama breaks out between Altman and Musk On Tuesday, fresh drama burst out between Musk and Altman on X after the Tesla CEO revealed plans to seek legal recourse against Apple. “Apple is behaving in a manner that makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store, which is an unequivocal antitrust violation,” Musk wrote. “xAI will take immediate legal action.” Sam Altman responded to the post by quoting with a comment that implied Musk’s hypocrisy. “This is a remarkable claim given what I have heard alleged that Elon does to manipulate X…

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Filed under: News - @ August 12, 2025 10:26 pm