Neural Noise

Merge Labs

2 min read

  • Merge Labs (Sam Altman–backed brain chip venture) is considering a gene therapy approach alongside or instead of electrophysiology-based BCI.1
  • The strategic shift toward gene therapy signals portfolio and timeline evolution for neural interfaces and is decision-useful for company and sector watch.1 1

Weekly enrichment (2026-07-20)

  • Merge Labs emerged from stealth in January 2026 with a $252 million seed round (widely reported as roughly $250 million) at an $850 million valuation, with OpenAI writing the largest single check.2 3
  • Additional investors in the round included Bain Capital, the Interface Fund, Fifty Years, Genesis, and Valve/game developer Gabe Newell.2 4
  • The co-founders are Sam Altman (co-founder, not day-to-day operations and reportedly not investing personal capital), Alex Blania (CEO) and Sandro Herbig of Tools for Humanity (the World/Worldcoin eye-scanning identity project), Tyson Aflalo and Sumner Norman of Forest Neurotech, and Caltech biomolecular engineer Mikhail Shapiro.3 4
  • Merge describes itself as a “research lab” aiming to bridge biological and artificial intelligence, and its core technical bet is connecting to neurons with engineered molecules/proteins rather than electrodes, reading and writing via deep-penetrating ultrasound to avoid implanting hardware into brain tissue.5 6
  • The approach draws on Shapiro’s Caltech work using gene therapy to make cells respond to or become visible to ultrasound (sonogenetics), positioning it as a less invasive alternative to Neuralink’s open-skull electrode threads.6 7
  • As part of the deal, OpenAI will collaborate with Merge on scientific foundation models and generative AI to interpret intent from noisy neural signals, framing BCIs as a new interface layer for AI.3 6
  • Merge is positioned as a rival to Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which raised a $650 million Series E at a $9 billion valuation in June 2025; the broader BCI market has been projected to reach about $12.87 billion by 2034.3 4
  • Merge says it will initially target patients with injury or disease before pursuing broader consumer human-capability applications, and reviewers have flagged the ethical sensitivity of brain data given AI-company involvement.5 6

Footnotes

  1. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiswFBVV95cUxQZDhWRE5MWUx2OFB5c25sS0FpcllhaXhUTk94ZGVhNTNJcnJ2UDBUZjZVVFc1d2loZjZsYVZoV05zaWJER1JwYy1sdmNQOHRuTE5RTmVGSGliSmZQM3pic1BTbllEM3JiZ0ttOFRKeFktWWgwRDEydDFJY0ZFZ2F5a21jbVVTVEt4TnpucVBOMXJzMFpEbkloUXVRNGtGZ014cngwMGxsdUZaQUNBWEJ3NGV3UQ?oc=5 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/15/openai-invests-in-sam-altmans-brain-computer-interface-startup-merge-labs/ ↩ ↩2

  3. https://mlq.ai/news/sam-altmans-merge-labs-launches-to-compete-with-elon-musks-neuralink/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  4. https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/musk-altman-battle-heats-up-with-openai-850-m-bet-on-neuralink-competitor/chrxXeoRdJr ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  5. https://merge.io/ ↩ ↩2

  6. https://www.theverge.com/column/806666/sam-altman-merge-labs-brain-computer-interface-startup-hire ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  7. https://archive.ph/Y9oOa ↩

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