Sam Altman co-founded a new brain-to-computer interface startup called Merge Labs, which raises funds for it, and perhaps capital from Openai’s venture team, an unnamed source told the Financial Times.
The startup is expected to be valued at $850 million. Sources accustomed to trading tell TechCrunch that the talk will be on the rise and Openai has not yet committed to participating, so the conditions may change.
Merge Labs is also reportedly working with Alex Blania, who runs the Tools for Humanity (previously the World).
Merge Lab competes with Neuralink from Elon Musk, which develops computer interface chips designed to be embedded in the brain. Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 (though its existence was unknown until 2017). The company is making serious progress.
Neuralink is currently undergoing examinations with people suffering from severe paralysis. It aims to allow them to control the device in their own way. In June, it raised a $600 million Series E at a $9 billion valuation.
NeuralInk (and perhaps Marge Lab) could revolutionize how humans interact with technology. Some may say their technology can direct humanity towards “specificity.”
Long before Silicon Valley became obsessed with the concept of artificial general information (AGI), it became obsessed with “specificity.” Mask uses this term to describe an era in which AI surpasses human intelligence. The more classic definition (after a 1960s novel of the same name by Dino Buzzati) means the fusion of technology with humans.
Altman blogged about “The Merge” in 2017. “The merge has already begun, but it’s going to be much more strange. We will be the first species to design our own offspring,” he assumed at that time, citing a research piece he saw at Openai, where Musk was still a co-founder.
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Musk left the opening in 2018, and the relationship between the two technical leaders has since collapsed. Just this week, Altman and Musk were arguing with X after Altman accused X and Musk of manipulating Musk for calling Altman a liar.
We will have to wait to see if the Marge Lab is officially announced. But it makes sense that Altman couldn’t address Musk as important as singularity without a challenger.
Openai declined to comment.
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