What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Merge Labs is a real brain-computer-interface startup co-founded by Sam Altman, and OpenAI announced on January 15, 2026, that it had invested in the company’s seed round. Merge is exploring ultrasound and molecular approaches to connect with the brain. That is a long way from reading arbitrary private thoughts: no public evidence shows that Merge has demonstrated a mind-reading system or released a consumer device.
What happened with Merge Labs?
OpenAI said it participated in Merge Labs’ seed round and would work with the company on AI models and tools for brain-computer interfaces. Merge describes its goal as building higher-bandwidth interfaces that combine biology, devices, and AI. Its stated ambitions include helping restore lost abilities, supporting healthier brain states, and creating new ways for people to interact with AI. OpenAI’s announcement does not say that Merge can currently translate thoughts into text or control an AI assistant.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Brain-Computer Interface Technologies: Accelerating Neuro-Technology for Human Benefit | $93.01 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
Brain Computer Interface | $47.24 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Brain Computer Interface | $2.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Brain-Computer Interfacing: An Introduction | $44.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Altman is a co-founder and, according to OpenAI, is participating in a personal capacity. OpenAI’s investment is separate. The announcement confirms the investment but does not detail the governance or financial arrangements surrounding the relationship between its CEO and the startup.
How much did Merge Labs raise?
OpenAI did not publish the seed round’s total size, its own check size, or Merge’s valuation. Secondary reports put the financing at about $250 million: TechCrunch reported a $250 million round and an $850 million valuation, while WIRED reported $252 million in funding. Those are reported deal terms, not figures confirmed in OpenAI’s announcement.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →#1 Best Overall
TechCrunch also reported that OpenAI was the largest individual investor and named Bain Capital, Interface Fund, Fifty Years, and Valve co-founder Gabe Newell among the participants. These investor details come from reporting, rather than the public announcement from OpenAI.
What does it mean to use sound waves on the brain?
The approach under discussion is ultrasound: sound at frequencies above human hearing. Ultrasound is not a single brain-computer-interface function. Researchers use or investigate it for different purposes, including imaging, influencing neural activity, and exploring ways to detect neural signals. Each capability answers a different question.
- Imaging: Ultrasound can help detect changes associated with blood flow or tissue activity. Such signals are indirect measures of brain function, not a direct transcript of thoughts.
- Neuromodulation: Focused acoustic energy can be used experimentally to influence activity in a targeted region. Changing activity does not, by itself, reveal what a person is thinking.
- Neural communication: Merge says it is exploring molecular techniques alongside deep-reaching modalities such as ultrasound, with the aim of transmitting and receiving information. The company has not publicly demonstrated a general-purpose system that does this.
The distinctions matter: stimulation is not decoding, and measuring a blood-flow-related signal is not the same as recording individual neurons. Nature’s overview of the field describes ultrasound neural interfaces as early-stage and cautions against treating them as mind-reading technology.
Can ultrasound read someone’s thoughts?
Not in the broad sense suggested by “read the human brain.” Research has explored brain imaging, stimulation, and constrained neural decoding, but those experiments generally involve selected regions, limited participants, and defined tasks. Decoding a known task or a statistical pattern is different from uncovering arbitrary private thoughts, memories, or free-form inner speech.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Rank #2
When assessing a future claim, useful questions include what signal the system measures, its spatial and temporal resolution, which task it decodes, how many people have been tested, and whether independent groups have replicated the result. A result tied to one protocol or task does not establish a universal ability to read minds.
What has human ultrasound research demonstrated?
Human studies support the narrower claim that focused ultrasound can affect or measure aspects of brain function under experimental conditions. They do not establish a general-purpose brain-reading interface.
- A 2026 review discusses transcranial focused ultrasound as an emerging tool for brain lesioning, blood-brain-barrier opening, and low-intensity neural stimulation. The review is indexed by PubMed.
- A 2026 study involving 16 healthy adults reported that a particular low-intensity focused-ultrasound protocol aimed at the centromedian thalamus improved reaction time on an attention task for at least 40 minutes after stimulation. The researchers observed no structural changes on MRI before and after the sessions. This was a specific experimental result, not evidence that ultrasound can decode thoughts. Study record.
- Other research has examined ultrasound in a visual-motion brain-computer-interface context and targeted stimulation of human neural circuits. Visual-motion BCI study; Human neural-activation study.
These studies do not establish unrestricted thought decoding, a Merge product, or a clinical treatment from Merge Labs.
Who founded Merge Labs, and what is Forest Neurotech’s role?
OpenAI identifies the founding group as Caltech researcher Mikhail Shapiro, Tyson Aflalo, Sumner Norman, Alex Blania, Sandro Herbig, and Sam Altman, who it says is involved in a personal capacity. Aflalo and Norman were associated with Forest Neurotech, a nonprofit focused on ultrasound-based neural interfaces; Blania and Herbig are technology entrepreneurs associated with Tools for Humanity.
Rank #3
WIRED has reported Merge as a spinout connected to Forest Neurotech. Forest is a nonprofit research organization; Merge is a newly funded for-profit venture. Public reporting describes a personnel and corporate connection, not a wholesale transfer of Forest’s research program or technology.
Forest describes Forest 1 as a research-grade ultrasound scanner for functional brain imaging and neuromodulation in humans. It is not a commercially available Merge product and does not show that Merge already has a finished brain-reading system.
How does Merge differ from Neuralink?
| Company | Broad approach | Trade-off and evidence described publicly |
|---|---|---|
| Merge Labs | Exploring noninvasive or less-invasive molecular and ultrasound-based interfaces. | Could avoid implanting electrodes in brain tissue, but signal quality, biological complexity, and performance remain uncertain; no general-purpose Merge system has been publicly demonstrated. |
| Neuralink | Surgically implanted electrodes placed in the brain. | Provides more direct neural access but requires an invasive procedure and long-term implant safety. Neuralink says people with severe paralysis have used its system to control digital and physical devices, and announced a $650 million Series E round. Neuralink’s announcement. |
This is a comparison of different strategies and publicly described maturity, not a like-for-like performance test. Noninvasive systems generally face noisier, less direct signals; implanted systems entail surgery and implant-related risks.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why pursue a less-invasive interface, and what are the trade-offs?
A system that avoids brain surgery could, in principle, lower barriers to repeated use and be more acceptable to some patients or healthy users. Ultrasound can also reach deep brain structures. But “noninvasive” does not mean risk-free or as capable as an implant.
Rank #4
- The skull distorts and attenuates acoustic signals, making precise focusing difficult.
- Skull geometry, thickness, and tissue properties vary between people, affecting targeting.
- Motion, biological variability, and limited signal-to-noise ratio complicate reliable measurement.
- Addressing individual neurons selectively is much harder than targeting a broader region.
- If an approach depends on molecular or genetic techniques, those could introduce separate medical risks and regulatory requirements beyond ultrasound exposure itself.
Safety depends on the signal intensity, frequency, targeting, duration, equipment, and application. The fact that ultrasound has established medical uses does not establish the safety of every brain-interface protocol or repeated exposure.
What applications are possible, and what is still speculative?
Merge and its associated researchers have described possible applications such as restoring communication or movement for people with paralysis, supporting people with neurological disorders, modulating unhealthy brain states, studying brain function, and creating assistive technologies. These are research goals, not established clinical indications or available Merge treatments.
OpenAI also describes future possibilities for brain-computer interfaces that could let people communicate, learn, and interact with technology, including AI systems that interpret intent. That leaves room for both therapeutic applications and enhancement ambitions. There is no public evidence that Merge can augment healthy users’ intelligence, connect thoughts directly to ChatGPT, or provide “superhuman” abilities.
Any future medical device would need evidence for its specific use and applicable regulatory authorization. The FDA provides information on regulatory science for neurological devices and its Breakthrough Devices Program. Neither program description means Merge has received authorization.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →What should readers watch for next?
The biggest unanswered questions are not whether ultrasound exists as a research tool, but whether Merge can turn that tool into a reliable, useful interface. Future claims will be easier to evaluate if they specify the measured signal, task, resolution, participant count, independent replication, and whether the method is truly noninvasive or requires biological modification.
Privacy and consent also matter before any product exists. A functioning neural interface could produce highly sensitive data, so questions would include what is collected, how long it is retained, whether it is used to train models, who can access it, and how users can withdraw consent or delete data. The public announcement does not answer those product-level questions.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
