Sam Altman-backed mysterious startup could challenge Elon Musk’s Neuralink

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is quietly stepping into Elon Musk’s territory, backing a mysterious new startup that could challenge Neuralink.

Altman is reportedly funding Merge Labs, a stealth company developing a non-invasive brain–computer interface (BCI) that uses sound waves and magnetic fields to interpret human thoughts.

Unlike Neuralink’s surgical brain implants, Merge Labs aims to create a system that can “read” the brain wirelessly, making it safer and more accessible.

According to The Verge, Altman has enlisted a renowned Caltech bioengineer known for pioneering ultrasound-based neural imaging, Mikhail Shapiro, as part of Merge Labs’ founding team.

Shapiro’s research focuses on using ultrasound and gene therapy to make brain cells responsive to sound, a technique that could revolutionise how humans interact with AI.

Altman’s move comes as he publicly distances himself from invasive technologies. “I wouldn’t put anything in my brain, it would kill my neurons,” he once joked.

Still, his fascination with brain–AI communication remains clear. He has previously said he’d like to “think something and have ChatGPT respond to it,” a concept reportedly central to Merge Labs’ mission.

This “read-only” brain interface could allow AI systems to interpret human thoughts, marking a stark philosophical and technical contrast to Musk’s Neuralink, which relies on implanted electrodes.

If Merge Labs succeeds, Altman’s latest venture could rewrite the rules of the brain–AI race.