Sam Altman, the OpenAI co-founder valued at the center of artificial intelligence's rapid ascent, is preparing a challenge to Elon Musk in the high-stakes brain-computer interface market. Altman is co-founding a new venture, Merge Labs, alongside Alex Blania, the chief executive of World, an iris-scanning digital ID project also backed by Altman.
The Financial Times reports that Merge Labs is seeking $250 million in funding from OpenAI's venture arm and other investors, with the company already valued at $850 million. Sources told the outlet that while Altman will serve as a co-founder, he will not hold a daily operational role in the business.
