Sam Altman is planning on investing in Neuralink’s rival, reports say

OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, has been involved in a series of public and legal clashes with Elon Musk, cofounder of Neuralink (and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, among others). Both figures have publicly engaged, and now Altman is planning on investing in a company that rivals Neuralink: Merge Labs.

A report by the Financial Times states that Altman is in conversation with the startup to financially back it. Merge Labs is a project aiming at developing brain-computer interfaces, similar to what Neuralink does.

Since 2017, Altman has written about merging humans and machines. In his personal blog, he wrote: “I believe the merge has already started, and we are a few years in. (…) It’s probably going to happen sooner than most people think. Hardware is improving at an exponential rate.”

Neuralink has made significant advances in the technology of brain implants. Currently, the company is in trial of its interface in Great Britain with limited or no ability to use both hands due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Previously, the Prime trials in the US showed promising results. 

If Merge Labs gets Altman’s backing, it would have to catch up with these advances. The company has also been reportedly working with Alex Blania, CEO of Tools for Humanity, also cofounded by Altman.

To date, there is no agreement or official statement in this regard. However, in light of Altman’s interest in ‘the merge’ between humans and machines, it would be a foreseeable move. Precisely, in his blog, he wrote: “The merge can take a lot of forms: We could plug electrodes into our brains, or we could all just become really close friends with a chatbot. But I think a merge is probably our best-case scenario.”