Is Sam Altman gearing up to take on Musk’s Neuralink? Report says…

Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, is working to co-found a brain-to-computer interface startup called Merge Labs, according to the Financial Times.

The venture is said to be seeking funding at a potential $850 million valuation, with some capital possibly coming from OpenAI’s own ventures arm. Sources told TechCrunch that talks remain early and OpenAI has not committed to participating, meaning the terms could still change.

Merge Labs is reportedly collaborating with Alex Blania, head of Tools for Humanity, the company behind Altman’s iris-scanning digital ID project. The new company would compete directly with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which is developing brain implants to help people with severe paralysis control devices using thought alone. Neuralink, founded in 2016 and valued at $9 billion after a June fundraising round, is currently running human trials.

The concept of “the merge”— humans integrating with technology— has long fascinated both Musk and Altman. In a 2017 blog post, Altman wrote that the merge “has already begun” and predicted humans would become “the first species ever to design our own descendants.” The idea predates Silicon Valley’s current fixation on artificial general intelligence and ties back to earlier visions of “the singularity.”

The two tech leaders, once OpenAI co-founders, have since become open rivals. Musk left the organisation in 2018, and the relationship has soured, with the pair trading public barbs on X this week. If Merge Labs moves forward, it would mark Altman’s bid to stake a claim in a field Musk has championed, and a new front in their escalating competition.

Elon Musk vs Sam Altman

Elon Musk and Sam Altman were once co-founders of OpenAI, but their relationship broke down after Musk left in 2018. Since then, they have become rivals, running competing AI companies: Musk’s xAI and Altman’s OpenAI.

The feud has played out both in business and in public spats. Musk has criticised OpenAI’s direction and tried to buy it back, while Altman has pushed ahead with commercial growth. This week, tensions escalated when Musk accused Apple of favouring OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the App Store. Altman responded by accusing Musk of manipulating X to benefit his own ventures.

Their rivalry now spans technology, influence, and personal reputation, with both positioning themselves as leaders in the race to shape the future of AI.

With inputs from agencies