"OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is obsessed with codifying your biology. First it was scanning your eyeballs - and now it's scanning your thoughts. According to new reporting from the Sources by Alex Heath newsletter via The Verge, the billionaire's new brain computer interface startup, Merge Labs, appears to be pursuing the use of ultrasound to read your mind. The insight is based on a new hiring decision by Altman."
"In a move that will raise questions amid the heightened scrutiny into circular AI dealmaking, Merge expects to raise $250 million from OpenAI, and is touting an $850 million valuation for the funding round. Altman himself will not invest in the company, however, and talks remain at an early stage, the FT noted. Altman also won't have a day to day role in the Merge project, its sources said."
"Altman confirmed that he was launching a Neuralink competitor during a conversation with reporters days later, but didn't go into detail. The startup's name is a reference to a popular idea in the tech sector which describes a hypothetical point when humans and machines "merge" together. Altman wrote an extensive blog post on the topic in 2017, citing predictions that this merging could come as soon as 2025 or as late as 2075."
Sam Altman is founding Merge Labs to develop brain-computer interfaces that use non-invasive ultrasound to interpret human thoughts. He recruited Mikhail Shapiro, a Caltech biomolecular engineer known for non-surgical brain-scanning research, as part of the founding team. Merge aims to position itself as a Neuralink competitor while emphasizing non-invasive approaches. The company is courting $250 million from OpenAI at an $850 million valuation, though Altman will not personally invest or run day-to-day operations. Merge has ties to Alex Blania and World, and the name references the tech idea of humans and machines merging.
Read at Futurism
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