The escalating rivalry between Sam Altman and Elon Musk has taken a new turn. OpenAI’s chief, Sam Altman, is reportedly on the brink of co-founding a new startup, Merge Labs, aimed at developing brain implants to directly compete with Neuralink, the company of his notable adversary.
Amazon co-founder MacKenzie Scott has donated over $19 billion to charity in just five years
Diamond batteries powered by nuclear waste promise 28,000 years of clean energy
“Blending Humans and Machines”
The Financial Times reports that the new venture, Merge Labs, is set on “blending humans and machines through artificial intelligence.” This name directly reflects a blog post by Sam Altman from 2017, where he first discussed this idea of “merging.”
The startup aims to raise $250 million based on a valuation of $850 million. OpenAI’s investment fund is expected to be one of the main contributors, although Sam Altman is not planning to invest his personal funds. However, he will be a co-founder of the project, alongside Alex Blania, the CEO of Worldcoin.
A New Chapter in Musk vs. Altman Conflict
This announcement marks the latest development in the increasingly fierce rivalry between the two billionaires. As a reminder, Elon Musk was one of the co-founders of OpenAI but dramatically left the company in 2018.
Since his departure, he has continuously criticized the direction Sam Altman has taken, launched his own competing AI startup (xAI, which develops Grok), and even sued OpenAI. The creation of Merge Labs is thus a direct response, entering a domain Musk thought he dominated: brain-machine interfaces.
An Emerging Market
While the announcement is dramatic, it’s essential to put it into context. Merge Labs is just getting started, whereas Neuralink has a several-year head start. Musk’s company is already valued at $9 billion and began human trials last year.
What’s the Buzz?
For now, this announcement seems more about a clash of egos between two tech billionaires than about a significant technological breakthrough. By targeting Neuralink, Sam Altman is encroaching on his arch-nemesis’s territory, ensuring massive media coverage and substantial investor interest in the process.
This new competition, however, is a positive development. The near-total dominance of Neuralink and the whimsical personality of Elon Musk in this sensitive sector was somewhat concerning. The entry of a competitor backed by OpenAI, which is (in theory) more focused on research and safety, could provide a welcome counterbalance and push for higher ethical standards. And you, are you tempted by a brain implant that lets you control devices with your thoughts, or is it a definite no?