OpenAI just wrote the largest check in a $252 million seed round for Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface startup co-founded by its own CEO, Sam Altman. The investment values the company at $850 million and adds another layer to an already tangled web of Altman-linked deals that includes previous OpenAI investments in his nuclear startups Helion Energy and Oklo.
OpenAI says the investment underwent independent board review. But the optics are unavoidable: the company is betting a quarter-billion dollars on technology developed by the person who runs it.
The stated reason? Brain-computer interfaces represent “an important new frontier” that will create “a natural, human-centred way for anyone to seamlessly interact with AI.” And unlike competitors that require brain surgery, Merge Labs is building something potentially accessible to millions—not just the brave few willing to go under the knife.
Damilare Odedina
No surgery required
That’s the real differentiator. While Elon Musk’s Neuralink raised $650 million at a $9 billion valuation in June 2025 with technology that requires surgeons to implant electrode threads into the brain, Merge Labs is pursuing non-invasive alternatives. The startup uses engineered molecules and ultrasound to detect neural signals from outside the skull.
The technical challenge is massive. Invasive BCIs capture precise signals because electrodes sit directly next to neurons. Non-invasive approaches must detect those same signals through bone, tissue, and fluid. Merge Labs co-founder Mikhail Shapiro, a Caltech neuroscientist, pioneered ultrasound-based brain imaging that amplifies neural activity enough to be detectable externally.
If it works, the implications are stark: brain-computer interfaces could move from experimental medical procedures accessible to a small group into mainstream tools that millions could use to control computers and AI through thought alone.
OpenAI’s deeper play
The company isn’t just providing capital. OpenAI will help Merge Labs build “scientific foundation models” to interpret the complex neural signals BCIs capture. That technical partnership could prove more valuable than the money, given that decoding brain activity remains one of neuroscience’s hardest computational problems.
Morgan Stanley estimated the BCI market at $400 billion in the US alone, primarily for medical applications like helping paralysed patients regain movement. Merge Labs, backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Valve co-founder Gabe Newell, plans to start with medical uses before pursuing consumer applications.
The timeline reality
Merge Labs told investors the technology could take “decades rather than years” to match the precision of surgical implants. The company hasn’t disclosed timelines for clinical trials or product launches. But the $252 million gives them runway to tackle one of the hardest difficulties in neuroscience: creating a reliable, non-invasive bridge between human thoughts and digital systems.
Whether that bridge gets built—and who controls it when it does—just became a lot more interesting now that OpenAI has skin in the game.
Damilare Odedina
