Sam Altman’s New Brain Venture, Merge Labs, Will Spin Out of a Nonprofit

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is launching a new startup called Merge Labs, which is being spun out of the Los Angeles-based nonprofit Forest Neurotech. Merge Labs, still in stealth mode, will focus on developing ultrasound-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to read brain activity. The company’s cofounders include Altman, Forest Neurotech’s CEO Sumner Norman, chief scientific officer Tyson Aflalo, and Alex Blania, CEO of the Altman-backed digital identity company World. Forest Neurotech, founded in 2023 as a focused research organization, has been working on ultrasound BCIs that detect brain activity indirectly by measuring blood flow changes, rather than electrical signals as done by competitors like Neuralink. Forest Neurotech’s ultrasound device is miniaturized from standard ultrasound machines and can also provide brain stimulation through focused sound waves. It is currently being trialed in the UK for safety, with potential applications in treating mental health disorders and brain injuries. One key advantage