OpenAI invests in Sam Altman’s BCI startup Merge Labs

OpenAI has invested in Merge Labs, a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, as part of a large seed funding round.

The startup, which describes itself as a research lab focused on linking biological and artificial intelligence, emerged from stealth this week with an undisclosed seed round. According to a report by Techcrunch, the round totalled about $250 million and valued the company at roughly $850 million, with OpenAI contributing the largest single investment.

“Progress in interfaces enables progress in computing. Each time people gain a more direct way to express intent, technology becomes more powerful and more useful,” OpenAI said in a statement announcing its investment.

The company said it views brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, as an emerging area that could enable new ways for people to communicate and interact with technology. “Brain computer interfaces (BCIs) are an important new frontier. They open new ways to communicate, learn, and interact with technology,” OpenAI said.

Merge Labs said it aims to develop noninvasive technologies that connect with neurons using molecules rather than electrodes, and transmit and receive information using methods such as ultrasound. The company said its goal is to build higher-bandwidth interfaces that are safe and scalable.

“Our individual experience of the world arises from billions of active neurons,” Merge Labs said in a statement. “ If we can interface with these neurons at scale, we could restore lost abilities, support healthier brain states, deepen our connection with each other, and expand what we can imagine and create alongside advanced AI.”

OpenAI said it will collaborate with Merge Labs on scientific foundation models and other tools to support research in areas such as bioengineering, neuroscience, and device development. It added that artificial intelligence could help interpret brain signals that are limited or noisy and adapt systems to individual users.

Merge Labs was founded by researchers Mikhail Shapiro, Tyson Aflalo and Sumner Norman, alongside technology entrepreneurs Alex Blania, Sandro Herbig and Sam Altman in a personal capacity.

The investment places OpenAI closer to a competitive field that includes Neuralink, the BCI company founded by Elon Musk. Neuralink is developing implantable devices that require surgery to read neural signals and enable people with paralysis to control external devices. Neuralink last raised $650 million in June 2025 at a reported valuation of $9 billion, according to media reports.

OpenAI said it expects the collaboration with Merge Labs to help “accelerate progress” in the development of BCI technologies.