OpenAI Backs Merge Labs in Push Toward Brain-Computer Interfaces
The company will collaborate on AI models to help decode neural signals as brain-computer research gathers pace.
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OpenAI has joined the seed funding round of Merge Labs, a research-focused startup developing brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies, with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman also involved in the venture in a personal capacity.
The company did not disclose the size of its individual investment as part of the round.
Merge Labs announced the $252 million seed financing round led by OpenAI alongside investors including Bain Capital and Valve co-founder Gabe Newell.
The startup is developing systems that seek to connect the brain with computers at higher data speeds by combining biology, hardware and AI.
OpenAI said such interfaces could open new ways for people to communicate, learn and interact with technology. In a blog post, the company noted that “progress in interfaces enables progress in computing,” describing BCIs as a potential next frontier.
The lab’s long-term aim is to bridge biological intelligence and artificial intelligence in a way that expands human capability while prioritizing safety. Its research spans neuroscience, bioengineering and device development.
OpenAI said AI systems would play a key role in interpreting neural signals, which are often noisy, limited and highly individual.
“High-bandwidth interfaces will benefit from AI operating systems that can interpret intent, adapt to individuals, and operate reliably with limited and noisy signals,” OpenAI said.
The collaboration is also notable as it brings OpenAI closer to a field that includes Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which is developing implantable brain chips that allow people with paralysis to control devices using thought. Neuralink raised $650 million last year at a valuation of about $9 billion.
As part of the partnership, OpenAI plans to work with Merge Labs on scientific foundation models and other advanced AI tools to support BCI research. These models are expected to help translate neural activity into usable signals and improve system performance over time.
Merge Labs was co-founded by researchers Mikhail Shapiro, Tyson Aflalo and Sumner Norman, along with technology entrepreneurs Alex Blania and Sandro Herbig.
OpenAI said it was “excited to support and collaborate with Merge Labs as they turn an ambitious idea into reality,” adding that the goal is to develop technologies that are ultimately useful for people, while navigating the scientific and ethical challenges of direct brain interfaces.
