Merge Labs

Emerged from stealth in January 2026 with a $252M seed round to develop brain interfaces that do not rely on implanted electrodes.

Interface category

Focused ultrasound neuromodulation · Functional ultrasound imaging

Signal

tFUS: Pulsed low-intensity ultrasoundfUS imaging: Blood-volume changes at depth

Invasiveness

Non-invasive

Recording / stimulation

Recording and stimulation

Main use cases

Augment, Restore

Shown in people

Nothing public: no device, animal or human data.

Still an aim

High-bandwidth reading and writing without implanted electrodes, by ultrasound and molecular methods.

What stands in the way

Physics first: functional ultrasound in people has needed a window in the skull.

On record here: 0 peer-reviewed papers

At its launch in January 2026, Merge Labs was the largest bet yet placed on reaching high bandwidth without an implant. There is no public human or device data yet, so its position on any maturity scale is a statement about ambition and capital, not evidence.

1. 14 Jan 2026

   Emerges from stealth with a $252M seed round; OpenAI and Bain Capital reported as lead backers.

   Independent reportingThe Register

• 14 Jan 2026$252MSeed · led by OpenAI, Bain CapitalIndependent reporting

Investors namedOpenAI · Bain Capital

Rounds in the Briefing’s sample only; not a complete funding history.

• Sam Altman

  Co-founder

• Mikhail Shapiro

  Co-founder

As publicly stated by the organisation. Not a complete list.

• sEMGNon-medical

  Meta Reality Labs

  A wrist-worn neuromotor interface that works across people without per-user calibration.

• IntracorticalFeasibility

  Neuralink

  A fully implanted, wireless intracortical BCI placed by a surgical robot.