OpenAI makes an investment in Altman's rival Neuralink

By EngineAI Team | Published on January 19, 2026
OpenAI makes an investment in Altman's rival Neuralink
Alongside its $252M financing, OpenAI announced a new seed investment in Merge Labs, a brain-computer interface business co-founded by Sam Altman. The AI behemoth is now the company's biggest sponsor.

The specifics:

By avoiding the surgical brain implants needed by competitors like Neuralink, Merge hopes to increase BCI bandwidth through the use of ultrasound and modified proteins.

Alex Blania and Sandro Herbig of World/Tools for Humanity, along with experts from Caltech and the charity Forest Neurotech, make up the founding team.

BCIs will be a "natural, human-centered way" to engage with AI, according to OAI, which will develop AI models and tools to assist Merge in reading brain signals and accelerating R&D.

The dealmaking cycle is continued by OAI's investment, but this time it's more intimate for Altman. The larger story, however, could be the territory he's invading, carrying his conflict with Elon Musk into the field of brain-computer interfaces and probably creating a whole new level of drama in the process.

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