BCIs & Neurotechnology News and Discussions

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Sam Altman, OpenAI will reportedly back a startup that takes on Musk’s Neuralink
Julie Bort
5:30 PM PDT · August 12, 2025

Sam Altman is in the process of co-founding a new brain-to-computer interface startup called Merge Labs and raising funds for it with the capital possibly coming largely from OpenAI’s ventures team, unnamed sources told the Financial Times.

The startup is expected to be valued at $850 million. A source familiar with the deal tells TechCrunch that talks are still early and OpenAI has not yet committed to participation, so terms could change.

Merge Labs is also reportedly working with Alex Blania, who runs Tools for Humanity (formerly World) — Altman’s eye-scanning digital ID project that “allows anyone to verify their humanness,” as the company describes.

Merge Labs will compete with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which is developing computer interface chips designed to be implanted in the brain. Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 (although its existence wasn’t known until 2017) and the company has made serious progress.

Neuralink is currently in trials with people who suffer from severe paralysis. It aims to allow them to control devices with their thoughts. It raised a $600 million Series E at a $9 billion valuation in June.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/12/sam-a ... neuralink/

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[firestar464]

and nothing could ever go wrong

[weatheriscool]

and nothing could ever go wrong

something can go wrong with almost anything. I could also see knowledge uploading coming from this ending the need for school for basic knowledge.

[firestar464]

I feel that the article and you are glossing over the potential issues instead of seriously analyzing them. What is with you and glazing Elon?

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[weatheriscool]

I feel that the article and you are glossing over the potential issues instead of seriously analyzing them. What is with you and glazing Elon?

Cars kill 100k per year and yet we don't want to ban them? You see everything has issues but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't advance as a species. We have to make it clear that abuse of the tech will result in severe punishment and work to make it safe all while developing it.

I feel that such will make life easier for disabled people and for the general public. This will allow for us to interlink with a.i and the net. Why do I glaze Elon? Because he is one of the few that advances tech and by doing so as a futurist I feel he advances ideas that I care about. I don't like his politics and have a love hate relationship with him. He is seriously fucking dangerous for things I care about and seriously good for other things I care about.

[firestar464]

I understand that there needs to be a balance between advancement and appropriate regulation and oversight to ensure public safety, and I am not calling for a ban on BCI tech.

However, rarely of late do you actually write about the risks of potential technologies, rather, you just go "wow this is fucking amazing this is good" without any sort of critical thought. For some reason, you do this with Elon's companies very specifically. If the potential risks of any potentially world-altering tech, let alone tech from Elon, aren't one of the first few things you think about and acknowledge, then you might want to reevaluate your mindset.

I get that not everything is a call for immediate criticism; however, when it concerns a large corporation, especially one owned by Elon Musk, one must be more discerning.

[firestar464]

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This is how we link with A.i. We're much better off doing this and then creating a separate entity that is superior.

I wish such a link up could be done with a head cap one day that doesn't require surgery! Maybe sound waves or something into the cortex. This could also download and upload information.

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https://www.reuters.com/business/health ... 025-09-19/

https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/ma ... hD39G0R3Th

[caltrek]

Researchers Develop First "Dynamic" Soft Electrode for Brain-computer Interfaces
September 17, 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) In brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and other neural implant systems, electrodes serve as the critical interface and are core sensors linking electronic devices with biological nervous systems. Most currently implanted electrodes are static: Once positioned, they remain fixed, sampling neural activity from only a limited region. Over time, they often elicit immune responses, suffer signal degradation, or fail entirely, which has hindered the broader application and transformative potential of BCIs.

In a study published in Nature on September 17, a team led by Prof. LIU Zhiyuan, Prof. XU Tiantian and Assoc. Prof. HAN Fei from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, along with Prof. YAN Wei from Donghua University, reported a soft, movable, long-term implantable fiber electrode called "NeuroWorm," marking a radical shift for bioelectronic interfaces from static operation to dynamic operation and from passive recording to active, intelligent exploration.

The design of NeuroWorm is inspired by the earthworm's flexible locomotion and segmented sensory system. By employing sophisticated electrode patterning and a rolling technique, the researchers transformed a two-dimensional array on an ultrathin flexible polymer into a tiny fiber approximately 200 micrometers in diameter.

This miniature NeuroWorm integrated up to 60 independent signal channels along its length, resembling a highly sophisticated sensory highway. Crucially, the tip of the fiber was equipped with a small magnetic module, enabling wireless steering of the implanted device via external magnetic fields. With this setup, NeuroWorm effectively recorded high-quality spatiotemporal signals in situ while being steered within the brain or along muscle tissue as needed.

To validate NeuroWorm's ability to navigate within muscle fascia, the researchers implanted it through a minimally invasive, half-centimeter incision in a rat and then used external magnets to guide its daily movement across muscle surfaces. X-ray images showed the biomimetic motion, which resembles a microscale bionic worm gliding smoothly between tissue layers. During the seven-day post-implantation period, the device demonstrated the capability to relocate across various positions while concurrently capturing clear and stable electromyographic (EMG) signals from all channels. This functionality effectively realizes dynamic and precise monitoring with the principle of "measurement on demand at targeted locations."

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1098630

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Brain Implant Enables Paralyzed Man to Feel and Use Objects Using Someone Else’s Hands
By Holly Large
October 15, 2025

Introduction:

(IFL Science) Aparalyzed man in his 40s is now able to feel and use objects through the hands of another person, after receiving a brain implant that connects him to a “human avatar”.

Keith Thomas became paralyzed in all four limbs – known as quadriplegic – in 2020, when he dived into a pool and broke his neck, injuring his spinal cord and rendering him unable to move or feel anything from the chest down.

Then, in 2023 he received a first-of-its-kind brain implant that utilized artificial intelligence and non-invasive electrodes to reconnect the bridge between his brain and his body, partially restoring movement and sensation to his hands. A year later, he was able to feel his dog’s fur, use his arm and hands to pick up a cup and drink out of it, and outside of the lab when he wasn’t connected to the computer, he had also regained some sensation in his arms and wrists.

Now, as described in a preprint study that is yet to be peer reviewed, Thomas’ brain implant has allowed him to control the movement of other people’s hands to pick up and use objects – and feel them too.

One element of the study involved a non-disabled woman acting as Thomas’ avatar, hooked up with electrodes and force sensors. In experiments where both were blindfolded, Thomas was successfully able to control the woman’s hands not only to open and close, but also to grasp objects, and feel enough sensation to tell the difference between them too.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/brain-impla ... ands-8172

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