Citing anonymous sources, the Financial Times reports that Sam Altman is preparing to launch a new startup called Merge Labs to develop a brain-computer interface. The company is intended to be a direct competitor to Elon Musk's Neuralink.
Preliminary figures indicate the project is estimated at $850 million. Merge Labs is reportedly collaborating with Alex Blania, CEO of Tools for Humanity (formerly World), to develop digital projects Altman will create, proving his identity through eye scans.
Neuralink and Merge Labs may be able to transform the very concept of human interaction and technology. Some believe their developments could bring humanity closer to the "singularity." Musk uses the term to describe the possibility of artificial intelligence surpassing human thought, while the more classic definition implies the fusion of humanity and technology.
Clearly, Altman is ready to compete with Musk, unwilling to let him have the sole right to pursue something so profoundly important and fateful for all of humanity.
